Baseball
by Piper Elizabeth
Summary: An alternate ending to the episode, “I Always Feel Like Someone’s Watching Me.” What would have happened if Lexie did get the e-mail that she was fired? What would she do? What would happen to Mark and Lexie? Slexie story.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Baseball

**Disclaimer:** Grey's Anatomy and its affiliated characters do not belong to me. I mean no copyright infringement.

**Summary:** An alternate ending to the episode, "I Always Feel Like Someone's Watching Me." What would have happened if Lexie did get the e-mail that she was fired? What would she do? What would happen to Mark and Lexie? Slexie story.

**Spoilers:** All episodes through 6x03

**Chapter 1**

It had been a long day. The longest day he had had in a very long time. All he wanted was a cold beer and a relaxing night where he didn't have to think about merges or budget cuts. It was all too much. He had been trying to keep his cool. He was trying to act like he knew he was safe, unlike everyone else who had been falling over themselves to impress the chief, but he had to admit, even he was worried. Sure, he could fix people's faces and reattach baby's arms, but he was still afraid. There was one thing that could make him feel better, though and he couldn't wait to see her. She was the woman who could put a smile on his face and at the same time make him want her with such desire that he had never felt before.

He saw her as he made his way down the stairs. She was curled up on one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs, her head buried in his hands. He paused at the bottom of the steps, knowing immediately that something wasn't right.

"Lexie?"

She looked up at him. Her cheeks wet, her eyes full of tears. When she saw him, she buried her head again. Mark sat down beside her.

"Lexie…"

She picked up her head to look at him. "I got the e-mail," she said between sobs.

"Oh, Lexie."

He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards him. He kissed the top of her head as she cried against his chest. It was a rare occasion when Mark Sloan shared in someone else's sorrow. He usually shied away from raw emotion, but not this time. His own heart ached for her, and it wasn't just because she wouldn't be working with him anymore in the hospital and he wouldn't be able to see her throughout the day or grab a few quickies in the on-call room. It was because he knew what she wanted was taken away from her and it hurt him.

He tried to soothe her, running his hand through her hair, whispering calming words into her ear, but nothing helped. She continued to sob.

"Lexie, we'll figure this out. I'll talk to the chief. I'll show up at his front door right now and tell him…"

"No!" She said adamantly. This time when she looked up at him, she tried to pull herself together. In her head, she ordered her tears to stop.

"But Lex…"

"No," she repeated, this time with more force. "I just…I just want to go…home."

The last word stuck with her. 'Home.' What did that mean? Not only did she no longer have a job, but she didn't even really have a home. Sure, she had the attic in Meredith's house and she had moved a few items into Mark's apartment, but a home was something she didn't have. New tears began to leak from the corner of her eyes.

"No," Mark said.

"No?" she sniffled.

"No, we are not going home. We are going out."

Mark stood up. Holding Lexie's hands, he tugged on them, but she didn't budge. Instead, she put her head down as if defeated.

"I'm really not in the mood," Lexie stated.

"Do you think I'm going to let you sit at home and drown in your tears?"

"Yes?" She said hopefully because that's exactly what she wanted to do.

"No," he replied. He tried to pull her to her feet again, but she was stubbornly remaining in the chair. Lexie knew that physically he could overpower her if he wanted and literally pull her to her feet, but that wasn't his intention.

"Mark…"

"Derek, Hunt, and the girls are all going out. We're going too."

Lexie shook her head. "No." She paused. "And Derek, Hunt, and the girls? Since when were they referred to as the girls?"

"Since now."

"And why would they want me going out with them?" she asked, nearly cutting him off. "They're all fine…they're all safe. I'm the one who's not safe. I'm the one who doesn't have a job to go to tomorrow."

She was starting one of her rants. Mark had to bite his cheeks to keep from laughing. He knew it wasn't funny, but when she started talking and didn't even bother to take a breath, he couldn't help but laugh. It was one of the things he most loved about her. Mark kneeled down in front of her as she began sinking back into her chair as if the news of being let go sunk in once again.

"I'm the one who wasn't good enough of a doctor to make it in this program so I got fired. So why would they want to hang out with me when I can't even…"

He put his finger against her lips to quiet her.

"You are a brilliant doctor and you deserve to be here. And tomorrow we are going to figure this all. But tonight…tonight we're going out with our friends and we're going to have a good time." He wiped away her tears with his thumb. "Ok?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Ok."

"Good."

Mark took Lexie's hand and stood up. This time, when he tugged on her arm, she stood up with him.

"I have to go wash up. That is if I'm still allowed in the doctor's lounge seeing as how I'm no longer an employee of this hospital and I…"

He leaned down and kissed her, silencing her.

"I'll wait here," he said.

He squeezed her hand as she walked off. As soon as she was out of sight, Mark slumped into the chair she had previously been occupying. He ran his hand through his hair and this time it was he who put his head in his hands. It had been a stressful day and finding out that Lexie had been cut only added to it. As soon as he had seen her crying, he was half ready to find the chief and demand that he let Lexie back into the program, but he took a different approach. An approach that he wasn't too familiar with. He was being the supportive boyfriend, not the man who flew off the handle and started fights to solve something. He was going to be there for Lexie.

Lexie practically stumbled into the lounge, her eyes so blurred with tears. She opened her locker and stared into the small mirror on the door. She was a mess. Her hair was sticking out in at least fifty different directions, her eyes were red and puffy, her tears had left streaks running down her face. All in all, she looked miserable and she felt worse. Her nose was running and her head was pounding.

Lexie grabbed her Jeans and T-shirt and quickly changed out of her scrubs and into her clothes. She stared at the contents of her locker. She knew she should clean it out. Already there were empty lockers around her that had been full only hours before. She didn't have much in her locker. Just an extra pair of clothes, her stethoscope, and a small picture of Mark that no one else knew she had. She quickly shoved the picture into her Jeans pocket and gathered the rest of the contents in her arms. She slammed the locker door closed and walked, with her arms full, into the bathroom.

"Lexie," Meredith said as Lexie burst into the bathroom. Meredith was standing at the sink, washing her hands. Startled, Lexie looked up at her and felt the tears beginning to form again.

"Hi," Lexie said, staring at the things in her arms. Sighing, she shoved everything into the nearby garbage. She was done. Done with everything that reminded her of the hospital.

"Oh, Lexie…you didn't."

"I don't really want to talk about it," Lexie said. She turned the faucet on and scooped some cold water into her hands. She splashed her face a few times. When she looked up, Meredith was standing beside her, holding out a paper towel.

"I'm sure we can talk to the chief," Meredith said.

"No," Lexie replied, taking the towel and wiping her face and hands.

"There's got to be some mistake. I mean…"

"There's no mistake." Lexie pulled the elastic out of her hair. "Look, Meredith, you and your friends are all safe and I'm happy for you. I really am. I just…I don't want to talk about it."

"Ok."

Meredith turned to walk out of the bathroom, but then stopped in the doorway. She knew the sisterly thing to do would be to sit Lexie down and make her talk, but they weren't quite at that level in their relationship. At least not yet. Instead, Meredith did the one thing she did know to do.

"Christina and I are going out with the guys…if you want to go."

Lexie smiled a little. First it was 'the girls' and now it was 'the guys.' It shocked her when she thought about just how close they had all become and it saddened her to think that she wouldn't be there anymore to share in that closeness.

"Mark sort of already invited me. He said I'm not allowed to go home and be miserable."

"Well, he's right."

Lexie stared in the mirror. She certainly didn't look her best, but she did look better. The puffiness in her eyes had started to go down and her hair at least wasn't a complete wreck anymore.

"Hey Lex?"

Lexie looked over at Meredith, who was still hanging out in the doorway. "You'll figure something out. We'll figure something out. Don't forget that you've got a lot of people behind you."

Lexie nodded. "Thanks."

Meredith finally slipped quietly out of the bathroom, leaving Lexie to stare at her reflection. Maybe Meredith was right, maybe things wouldn't be that bad.

Out in the entrance to the hospital, Derek walked down the same flight of stairs Mark had been walking down when he had seen Lexie. Derek saw Mark in much the same position as Lexie had been.

"I'd hate to see what you look like when you're miserable if this is what you look like when you're happy," Derek stated, walking over to where Mark sat.

Mark looked over at him.

"I'm not happy."

"But you didn't get an e-mail. Everyone who didn't get an e-mail in this hospital should be happy."

"Not when your girlfriend does get an e-mail."

"Lexie?" Mark nodded. "But Lexie's good. I mean, yeah she started a secret intern surgery ring, but she's good."

"I know."

"And Richard cut her?"

"Richard cut her."

Derek leaned back in his chair and breathed deeply. "Wow. He cut Lexie."

"He cut Lexie."

"He cut Meredith's little sister. That's just…"

"Wrong?"

Derek shook his head, not believing what he was hearing. After the chief's history with Meredith's mother, he assumed they would all be safe. Even though he wasn't particularly close to Lexie, she was Meredith's sister and they had just started getting closer. Not to mention Lexie was his best friend's girlfriend, which was saying something. Mark didn't have 'girlfriends.' Mark had women he fooled around with and then never called. Lexie was different and Derek knew it. It was just a question of whether Mark knew it too.

"Have you talked to him?"

"The chief? No. Lexie doesn't want me to."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but this is not good."

"How's she doing?"

"You mean besides crying her eyes out?"

"That good, huh?"

"You know me, Derek, I'm not…good at this. I'm not good at being the shoulder to cry on. I don't know what to do."

"Yes you do. You just don't know it yet."

"What would you do? To comfort Meredith if something like this happened? What would you do?"

"Whatever I could."

Mark nodded, somehow understanding. "Look, I know tonight's supposed to be a celebration, but would you mind if…"

"If Lexie comes along tonight?"

"I just don't think it's a good idea for her to go home."

"See, you do know what to do."

Author's Note: This is my first Grey's Anatomy fanfic and I hope you like it! I've had this idea floating around in my head since the episode aired and I'm glad that I've finally been able to put it down on paper. Thank you for reading and please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Mark glanced over at her before concentrating his eyes back on the road. Lexie was staring out the car window, her head leaning against the cool glass. They hadn't spoken since they got in the car and Lexie asked where they were going. He wouldn't tell her. He wanted it to be a surprise.

As he looked at her once again, his eyes lingering on her sad face. He wondered if he was doing the right thing. Maybe he should have taken her home. Maybe they should have spent the night in bed, even if it meant him just holding her while she cried some more. But then he saw the brake lights on Derek's car up ahead and he reminded himself that he was doing the right thing. Just because she had been let go of her job didn't mean that life had to stop.

Mark slid his right hand over to where hers was resting on her knee. He wrapped his fingers around hers and squeezed her hand.

"It's going to be OK," Mark said encouragingly.

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do."

"How?"

"Because you're you and…we're here."

Lexie looked out the window as she saw Hunt and Christina get out of Hunt's truck and Meredith and Derek get out of Derek's car. She looked beyond where they parked over to an open field. Floodlights lit the field, illuminating the empty stands.

"A baseball field?" Lexie asked. Mark nodded. "Mark I…"

Mark opened his door and got out of the car. He walked over to the passenger side and opened Lexie's door.

"Don't play baseball," she finished. He took her head and helped her out of the car.

"Now you do," he said.

"No, I mean I really don't play baseball." They began walking towards the field behind the other couples.

"Everyone plays baseball."

"Not me. I was traumatized playing baseball as a child."

"Traumatized?"

"In the fifth grade in gym class, we were playing T-Ball and Tommy White was the pitcher and he threw the ball right at me. Right at me and I got so scared that I ducked, but apparently I didn't duck well enough because the next thing I know, I'm flat on the ground with my gym teacher standing over me and I had this." She pushed her hair aside and showed him a small scar next to her right ear.

"I love that scar," Mark said as he they walked onto the field. Derek was already showing Meredith the proper way to hold a bat while Hunt was arguing with Christina and filling the automatic pitcher with balls.

"You're a plastic surgeon. You spend your days fixing scars so people look more beautiful. How can you love my scar?"

Mark stopped walking and stood in front of her.

"First of all, I do not just fix scars so people look more beautiful. I am a double board certified plastic surgeon. I reattach babies' arms."

"I know, I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"And I do love scars." He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Especially scars that are in places that make you shudder." He kissed the spot where her scar was and her whole body did indeed shudder. "I just never told you how much I loved it before because we're always a little…preoccupied." He kissed the spot again and smiled.

"You're cruel," Lexie said as Mark began walking towards the field.

He flashed her a smile back. "I know."

She ran to catch up with her. "And I still don't play baseball."

As they walked out onto the field, Derek handed each of them a beer.

"Lexie, I'm…" Derek began to say.

Mark practically glared at him, telling him to not mention the e-mail. Picking up on the hint, Derek took a long swig of his beer.

"Thanks," Lexie said. She knew what he was going to say, but was glad that he didn't actually say it. She didn't want his pity. She didn't want anyone's pity. The bottom line was she wasn't good enough and she was just going to have to accept that.

"Batter up," Hunt said, handing a bat out to Christina.

"I am not playing baseball," she stated, putting her hands up and not taking the bat.

"We're not playing baseball," Hunt corrected. "We're just batting."

"Well, I'm not batting. I've got to get back to the hospital and…"

Mark looked over at Lexie who was standing next to him. At the mention of the word hospital, she put her beer to her lips and began chugging.

"We are not going to talk about the hospital," Derek stated. "We are going to hit some balls."

"Speak for yourself," Christina said.

Hunt practically shoved the bat at her and Christina reluctantly took it. "Do you know how dumb this is? We're surgeons, if we get hurt or mess up our hands, our careers are over."

Again Mark looked over at Lexie, her beer still to her lips. He was pretty sure she was just finishing off her beer and was ready for a second. He reached down to the cooler next to him, grabbed a beer, popped the top off, and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said, putting hers down on the ground next to her.

She stared at Christina, wondering what she would have to do to be that good. Sure, Christina didn't have the best bedside manner or tact, but she was a damn good surgeon. Hunt put a batting helmet on Christina's head.

"I told you, I am not playing," she yelled at Hunt as he walked over to the pitcher. He hit a button and a ball went flying towards Christina, hitting her. "Hey!" She screamed.

"Let's play some ball," Derek said, his arm around Meredith.

Determined to prove that she was good at everything, Christina raised her bat and got ready for the next ball. When it came flying at her, she swung the bat and heard the crack of the bat and ball making contact. Before even registering what happened, she dropped the bat and began jumping up and down. Hunt ran over to her and grabbed her around the waist, swinging her around. Meredith , Derek, and Mark began to clap for her, each of them with big smiles on their face, but Lexie couldn't muster the fake enthusiasm.

As Christina ran over to give Meredith a hug, Mark playfully hip bumped Lexie. It knocked her out of her trance and she bumped him back.

"You're up Little Grey," Derek said.

"Oh, no I don't play," Lexie replied.

"Come on, Lex," Meredith persuaded.

Mark walked over to where Christina dropped the bat and picked it up. Christina handed him the helmet and he walked over to Lexie.

"Put this on," he directed.

"Mark, I really…"

He didn't let her finish. Instead, he plopped the helmet onto her head. It was a little too big, but it only made her all the cuter.

"Now take this." She didn't move. He took the beer out of her hand and held the bat out to her. "Take it." She finally reached her arm out and took the bat. Taking her by the shoulders, Mark practically marched her over to the mound. "Now, keep your eye on the ball."

"Mark…"

"Trust me, you'll feel better."

He took a few steps to the side as Derek crouched behind her as the pitcher. Lexie took her stance and stared straight ahead. She saw the ball flying at her. She swung, but it was too late. The ball was safely in Derek's glove.

"Strike one!" Derek yelled.

Lexie turned to glare at him as he threw the ball to the side.

"Hey, I just call it," Derek explained.

Lexie turned her attention back to the pitcher. She was determined to hit the ball harder and better than Christina. Lexie had never understood sports, especially baseball. It was the only sport where you could fail eighty percent of the time and still make millions. What was the point of hitting a ball with a stick anyway? What did it prove? Now saving a life, on the other hand. Saving a life was worth something.

This time the ball went whirling past Lexie without her even noticing. She was stuck in her own thoughts.

"Strike two!" Derek shouted.

"Wait, wait, time out," Mark said as he approached Lexie. "Where did you learn how to hold a bat?" He asked her.

"I told you I don't play," she said, trying to hand him back the bat. She felt like more of a failure than she started. Not only was she apparently not good enough as a doctor, but she couldn't even hit a damn ball.

"Then we're going to make a player out of you."

"No, I don't want to," she said.

"Are you quitting, Lexie? Because the Lexie Grey I know doesn't quit."

Lexie took a deep breath and shook her head. "I don't quit."

"That's what I thought."

"Are we going to play ball or what?" Hunt asked.

"Oh we're playing alright and I'm going to kick your ass," Lexie said, staring at Hunt. Meredith cheered, finally seeing the fighting spirit she was used to seeing in Lexie.

Mark stood behind her and put his arms around her, placing his hands over hers on the bat.

"Line up your hips with the base," he instructed, placing one hand on her hip. "Hold the bat firm, but don't strangle it." She loosened her grip, but held it firmly. "Keep your eye on the ball. You don't want to swing too early. You have to let the ball come to you."

"Let the ball come to me, got it."

"Good, now give 'em hell." He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "And by the way, you look damn sexy in that helmet."

He hit her playfully on the behind and walked over to stand next to Hunt.

"Think she'll hit it?" Hunt asked Mark, handing him back his beer that he had been holding for him.

"Probably not," Mark answered, smiling.

Lexie stared intently at the electronic pitcher, waiting for it to release the ball. When she saw the ball coming at her, she tried to remember what Mark had said, but all she could remember was her anger and frustration from the day. She knew she wasn't a bad surgeon, so why did she get cut? She knew she deserved to be there.

As the ball flew towards her, Lexie swung the bat with all her might. The bat and ball smashed into each other and the ball went flying. It went even further than Christina's, flying into the outfield.

Everyone erupted into cheers as Lexie dropped the bat and began running towards first base.

"Lexie, we're not…" Meredith began to shout, about remind her that they weren't actually playing and there was no reason to run the bases, but Mark put his hand on Meredith's arm, quieting her. He knew that running was just what Lexie needed. She needed to escape from the thoughts and the worries. She needed to just be free.

They all watched as she rounded the bases. As she came into home, Mark was there with his arms wide open. She ran into his arms and he whisked her off her feet, spinning her around. He took her helmet off and kissed her deeply. After a few seconds, Derek cleared his throat and the two broke apart.

"We're playing ball here," Derek said.

Lexie's cheeks turned red. She had almost forgotten that they had an audience. For a moment, everything was right in the world again.

Lexie picked the bat up off the ground and, with Mark's arm around her shoulder, she walked by Christina. "Told you I'd kick your ass," she said playfully.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Christina attempted to grab the bat.

"I don't think so," Meredith said, grabbing the bat from Lexie's hand. "Now it's my turn to kick all of your asses."

She walked over to the plate and took her stance.

"Five bucks says she strikes out," Christina said.

Lexie smiled. "You're on."

Author's Note: Thank you so much for all of the great reviews! This was a fun chapter to write. I took the premise for this chapter from the episode itself, but I had a lot of fun writing my own dialogue and such. Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"I told you you'd have fun," Mark said as he opened his apartment door. Lexie stumbled inside, practically losing her footing as she tripped on the carpet.

"It was fun. Who knew baseball could be so much fun." She stumbled further into the apartment and tripped over the coffee table. "Oops," she giggled, using the back of the couch to hold her up.

"I think someone had a few too many beers."

She put her hand up, putting her index finger and thumb about an inch apart.

"Just a few," she said, laughing. "But it was fun. Did you have fun? I had fun. We should have fun more often. I had fun."

"You said that already."

"I did? Oh…oops."

"Come on, let's get you to bed," Mark stated, throwing his keys on the table near the door.

"I'm not tired."

"Yes you are."

"Really?" She kicked off her shoes, staring at the spot where they landed.

"Really."

"But I don't feel tired."

"I'm sure you don't. But, trust me, you are tired."

"That's too bad because I was thinking that maybe you could tell me how much you love my scar again."

She began making her way towards the bedroom. God it was tempting. It was tempting to follow her into the bedroom, throw her onto the bed, and make love to her all night. But, it wasn't right. Not in the state she was in.

"How about you lay down while I go hop in the shower?" Mark asked as he followed her, keeping his distance. She stopped in her tracks in the doorway of the bedroom. In a second she had closed the gap between them and was running her hands up and down his chest.

"Or we could shower together. Baseball makes you dirty."

"Yes, yes it does." She began pushing his shirt up, running her hands over his naked flesh. "But I still think you should go to bed."

"But I'm dirty. I did all that swinging and running and now I'm dirty." She stuck her bottom lip out, pouting. Mark knew he was done for. He could never resist pouting.

"You're not dirty," he insisted. He was definitely the one who was dirty, and not just physically. His mind was working overtime on what he could be doing to her instead of arguing.

"Yes I am. I'm dirty and you're dirty. And, since we're both dirty, we should get clean. Together."

She lifted his shirt over his head and threw it on the floor.

"No," he said sternly although his mind was thinking something totally different. He took her by the hand and led her into the bedroom. She jumped onto the bed, laughing. On her knees, she crawled to the edge of the bed and beckoned for him to join her.

"Please," she begged.

Mark went right over to the bureau and opened the one drawer that belonged to her. He didn't dare look back at her. He knew if he looked at her, he would want her and he had to resist. He pulled out one of the lacy tank tops he loved on her, but then thought better of it. A lacy tank top was not going to help him in his predicament. Instead, he opened the drawer underneath her drawer and pulled out one of his plain grey T-shirts. Of course, she looked just as sexy in his clothing as she did in her own, but at least there would be less skin involved.

"Oh Mark," she teased.

Mark turned around and saw her sitting back against the pillows in nothing but her bra.

"Are you trying to kill me, woman?" He asked.

"Only if you don't get in this bed with me," she replied.

Mark walked to the edge of the bed and laid the T-shirt out. "Here," he said. "You put this on and I'll be right back."

"Promise?"

"Promise," he answered. He leaned over the bed and kissed her. As soon as his lips met hers, he knew he shouldn't have kissed her. It was ending the kiss that was the problem. Her hands tangled in his hair. She tried to pull him onto the bed next to her, but he resisted.

"I'll be back," he whispered, his head spinning.

"You better."

He winked at her before going into the bathroom and closing the door behind him. When the door was shut, he stood in front of the sink. Placing each hand on either side of the porcelain sink, he leaned on it and looked at himself in the mirror. He wanted to go back in there and ravage her, but instead he went over to the shower and turned on the water. He ran his hand through the spray of water, checking the temperature. As the water turned warm, he could hear her moving in the bedroom and he decided to turn the water to cold. He definitely needed a cold shower. Stripping down, he stepped under the cool spray and tried to forget about the gorgeous woman who was naked in his bed in the next room.

When he was through with his shower, Mark walked out of the bathroom in only his boxer shorts. He definitely felt cleaner, but the shower didn't really help what he was feeling. As he made his way into the bedroom, he saw her, sprawled out on the bed on top of the blankets and sheet. Her hair was splayed out on the pillows, her eyes closed. He walked quietly over to her, watching her chest rise and fall. He smiled, realizing she was asleep. Afraid that'd he wake her by tucking her into bed, Mark walked into the living room and grabbed a throw off the back of the couch. He went back into the bedroom and draped it over her. Even though she was taking up most of the bed, he slid in next to her and kissed her cheek before finally succumbing to sleep.

*****

Hours later, Mark was woken up to a strange sound. Without opening his eyes, he reached next to him, expecting to feel Lexie. All he felt were the cool bed sheets where her warm body should have been. Mark opened his eyes slowly. She definitely wasn't next to him. Allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness, he looked quickly around the room. She wasn't anywhere. Mark rolled over and looked at the bathroom door, hoping that she wasn't feeling the effects of all the beer she had consumed earlier. But, the bathroom door was open and the light was off so she obviously wasn't there.

"Damn it!" Lexie yelled.

Mark pushed the blankets off of him and put his feet on the floor. He glanced at the clock. 3:00 AM. He rubbed his face, trying to wake himself up, and walked out of the bedroom. He saw her sitting at the dining room table, the blanket he had put on her earlier wrapped around her shoulders. She was staring at the laptop in front of her, her eyes fixated on the screen. For a moment he just stared at her. She was so engaged in what she was doing, concentrating solely on the task at hand. It was one of the things he admired about her. Her ability to stick with one thing until she finished. Not everyone could do that.

"Come back to bed," Mark said.

Lexie jumped at the sound of his voice.

"You scared me."

"Sorry," he apologized. "You better have a very good reason for leaving me alone in that bed."

"I'm figuring out my future."

"I'm sorry?"

"I've got to start looking for another job since I obviously don't have on anymore and if I don't start now, all the other people who got fired today will have a head start and I can't let that happen because then I'll be the only one without a job and…"

Mark made his way over to her. He sat down backwards in a chair beside her. He put one hand on her right hand, which was controlling the mouse and put his other hand under her chin. He applied pressure to her face and turned her head so that she was looking him straight in the eye.

"Stop," he said quietly.

"I can't." She managed to get out of his grasp and turned her attention back to the screen. "I can't stop. I have to start looking for a job. I can't just sit back and…"

"You have a job, Lexie," he interjected.

"No, I don't. The e-mail made that very clear."

"Look, it's late. We can worry about your future tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? By tomorrow it will be too late. And besides, today is tomorrow."

Mark put his hand on her knee and ran his hand slowly up her leg.

"Come back to bed," he repeated, this time using his low, sultry voice that on more than one occasion had talked her into bed.

"Don't do that," she stated, brushing his hand off her thigh.

"Do what?" He asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Don't try to seduce me. I'm not seduceable right now."

"You were a few hours ago."

"I was drunk a few hours ago."

"Lexie…"

"No. I need to find a job."

"It can wait until tomorrow."

"Today," she corrected.

"OK, today. Besides, you have nothing to worry about because I'm going to talk to the chief tomor…today and get this whole thing straightened out and…"

"No!" Lexie practically shouted.

"What?"

She slammed the laptop screen shut probably harder than she should have.

"You are not talking to the chief," she stated.

"I'm not?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

She stood up, pushing her chair back from the table. She let the blanket fall onto the floor.

"Because I said so."

She headed for the bedroom. He stood up and began to follow her.

"But the chief can get you your job back and if I tell him…"

She stopped dead in her tracks and whirled around to face him. "Tell him what? Tell him that you think I should have my job back because we're sleeping together?" She turned back around to go to the bedroom, but he grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

"Is that what this is to you? This is just about sex?"

"Of course not, but that's what the chief will think."

He pulled her closer to him, his face just inches from hers.

"Screw what the chief will think," he practically growled.

She dropped her head, tears pushing their way into her eyes. "I know that you're just trying to help. And I know that what we have is more than sex…it's much more." She sighed, feeling defeated. "I just…I need to do this on my own."

He knew that look in her eye. She was scared. And the only thing he could do for her was to be there for her in any way he could.

"Ok," he answered.

She looked up at him, meeting his eyes. "Ok?" She questioned.

"Ok. I won't talk to the chief. Even though I don't agree with you, we'll do this your way."

"You're angry," she stated.

"I'm not angry," he insisted.

"Yes you are."

He took a step away from her and sighed. "I'm not used to this."

"Used to what?"

"To listening to someone else…to compromising. That's not usually how I role."

"Did you just say 'how I role'?" Lexie mimicked, as she tried to hide a laugh.

"Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not," she replied, looping her arms around his neck. His hands circled her waist. "It was just…cute."

"Cute?"

"Yeah, cute." She ran her hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "Look, I know you want to help and I appreciate it. I appreciate it more than you'll ever know. Just that fact that you believe in me enough that you'd be willing to talk to the chief, that means so much to me. But I need to figure this out for myself." She took her hand out of his hair and reached for his hand. "Can you understand that?"

"I guess I don't have a choice," he said, smirking. He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. "But I want you to know one thing."

"What's that?"

"I am going to be there for you. You might want to do it your way, but we are going to figure this out together. Ok?"

She nodded. "Ok."

He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Now, are you sure you're not seduceable?"

She laughed as their kiss deepened.

Author's Note: This chapter was the one that inspired me to write this story. I always start with one chapter and sort of take it from there and this was the one. I really loved writing this chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

One Week Later

Mark took off his surgical cap and threw it into the waste bin. He barked orders to one of the scrub nurses as he walked out of the OR. It had been a six hour facial reconstruction surgery and his feet were killing him. He needed a chair and a burger.

"How'd it go?" Derek asked as he walked up behind Mark. They walked together down the hall towards the nurse's station.

"Went well. Patient should recover in no time."

"Good. Meredith's working late so do you want to grab a bite to eat?"

They stopped at the nurse's station. Mark picked up a chart, scanned it, and signed off on it.

"Can't. I told Lexie I'd take her out to dinner tonight."

"How's she doing?"

Mark shrugged. "She's taken to cleaning."

"What?"

"Cleaning. She's cleaned the whole apartment from top to bottom…twice. She actually waxed the floors. Who waxes their floors? And, she scrubbed the stove so hard, she actually scrubbed the numbers right off the dials."

"Well, it shouldn't matter. You don't cook anyway."

"Not the point."

"Sorry."

"I just don't know how to get her to stop."

"How's the job search going?"

Mark shrugged. "When she's not cleaning, she's staring at her computer, cursing."

"That good, huh?"

"Worse." Mark lowered his voice. "We haven't had sex all week."

"A whole week, huh?" Derek asked, a mocking tone in his voice.

"It's not funny."

"I don't think not having sex for a week constitutes a national emergency."

"But you don't get it. A whole week." He paused. "Without sex." He paused again, emphasizing his point. "A whole week without really, really good sex."

"Have you forgotten you're talking about my wife's little sister?"

"Instead of having sex," Mark continued, ignoring Derek, "she's washing the windows or scrubbing a pot that she's already scrubbed seven times. I miss sex. I miss really, really good sex."

"I'm walking away," Derek said. He didn't want to hear about Mark's sex life anymore.

"Really, really good sex," Mark muttered.

He pulled out another chart and noticed one of the nurse's staring at him. He looked up at her and she winked at him flirtatiously. Mark rolled his eyes and walked away.

He checked on his recovering patient before going into the attending's lounge. He quickly changing into Jeans and a black button-up shirt Lexie had bought him because she said it made him look 'sexy.' He was hoping that she would think the same thing again.

"There you are!" Callie said as she opened the door.

"Sorry, can't talk now," he replied, putting on his leather jacket.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Probably to not have sex with Lexie."

"What are you two practicing celibacy or something?"

"You could say that."

"Want to talk about it?"

Mark shook his head. "Lexie's just having a hard time…you know, not having a job."

"Where has she been looking?"

"Everywhere. There's just nothing out there. You wouldn't believe how many hospitals are downsizing or merging or just not hiring. I mean, did you know that eight major hospitals in the Midwest have decided to cut twenty-five percent of their staff. Twenty-five percent! It's like they just expect people to get sick twenty-five percent less."

"Wow," Callie said. "You really haven't been having sex."

"Not having really, really good sex," Mark corrected.

"Well, if it helps, I was just facebooking with one of my old college roommates who happens to be a top surgeon at…"

"Did you just use facebooking as a verb? And since when do you have a facebook?"

"Don't judge me."

"Oh, I'm not judging, I'm just saying…facebook? Really?"

"Do you want to have sex tonight or not?"

"What?"

"Look, Lexie is withholding sex because she's stressed. And she's stressed because she doesn't have a job. So, if you want to have sex, you need to find Lexie a job."

"Find Lexie a job," he repeated.

"Find Lexie a job," she agreed. "Anyway, my friend's from Hartford General. She said they have some resident spots available. I might be able to pull a few strings if she's interested."

"Yeah, thanks," Mark said, only half listening. He was still trying to figure out why he hadn't figured out that all he needed to do was find Lexie a job and everything would be fine. Mark stood up and walked out of the room.

"Mark…wait!" Callie called out, but he was already gone. She hadn't even had a chance to talk to him about the patient she wanted a consult on. She sighed and walked out of the room.

*****

"Lexie?" Mark called as he entered the apartment. He shut the door behind him, dropped off his keys, and shrugged off his jacket, hanging it on the hooks by the door. He walked through the spotless apartment.

"In here," she yelled back.

The sound was definitely coming from the bathroom. Mark walked over to the bathroom and stood in the doorway. She was on her hands and knees with a scrub brush in her hands in front of the toilet. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she was wearing baggy sweats and a T-Shirt. It was definitely not Mark's favorite look.

"Didn't you just clean the toilet yesterday?" He asked. She didn't even look at him. Instead she put more vigor into scrubbing the bowl.

"That was yesterday. Do you know how dirty a toilet can get in one day?"

"No, actually I don't." He watched her for a few more seconds before her scrubbing began to make him crazy. "Lexie." She didn't answer. "Lexie!"

Finally, she looked up at him. "Oh, Mark." He was holding a bouquet of red roses in his hand. "They're beautiful, but you didn't have to."

"Yes I did," he replied.

She left the toilet scrubber in the bowl and stood up. She reached for the flowers, but Mark pulled them away.

"Not with those on," he said, pointing to the yellow rubber gloves she was wearing. She stripped the gloves off her hands and threw them into the sink. He handed her the flowers. She held the flowers up to her nose and smelled them.

"They really are beautiful," she said.

"So are you," he replied, leaning in for a quick kiss. "So, what are you in the mood for?"

"What?"

"For dinner. What are you in the mood for?"

"Oh, I don't care."

"Maybe Italian or Indian."

"How about takeout?" Lexie asked. Mark's eyes lit up. Takeout meant more time at home, which meant more opportunity for sex. "That way I can check the Hope website to see if there are any postings. I've been checking all day, but they haven't updated yet, but I want to be here when they do post. Actually, I should check now because I haven't checked since I…"

She brushed past him, walking over to her laptop, which had taken up permanent residence on the kitchen table. She dropped the roses on the table as if she didn't really care about them at all.

"Don't check," Mark said from the bathroom door.

"Mark, I have to check."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do. I need a job, Mark. It's been a week and I don't have a job. I need a job."

He walked over to her at the table.

"We haven't had sex in a week," he stated simply.

She looked up at him, startled. Her face began to turn red. "What?" She stuttered.

"We haven't had sex in a week," he repeated.

"Well, I…I've been…busy…I've…"

"Been busy scrubbing the toilet?"

She sighed. "I'm sorry. I know I haven't been the best girlfriend recently."

He put his hands on her hips and leaned his forehead against hers.

"You need to stop worrying," he said.

"I can't. I can't stop worrying."

"I know."

"I'm sorry."

"You need to stop apologizing."

"I'm sor…" He glared at her, silencing her.

"We're going to figure this out."

"How?"

He tried to remember exactly what Callie had said to him in the lounge. He was so excited about getting home to Lexie to find her a job that he couldn't really remember what she said.

"Callie has an in at some hospital or another that's apparently looking for some residents."

"What hospital?"

"I…" he racked his brain. "I don't really remember. But I'll talk to her about it tomorrow. For now, can we get back to something more important?" He leaned in to kiss her, but Lexie practically pushed him away and scrambled into her chair.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm going to post on Callie's facebook wall to get the name of that hospital."

"You're going to what? Wait…since when were you on facebook?" She ignored him. "You know, you could just call…or text," Mark suggested as Lexie frantically clicked away T the mouse and began typing.

"Yes!" She shrieked.

"What?"

"She's on facebook. Now I can chat with her."

"You can what? Lexie, this is crazy."

Lexie began to type faster than Mark ever saw anyone type before. After a moment's pause in her typing, Mark opened his mouth to speak when Lexie's furrowed brow turned into an elated smile and she began clicking on the mouse again.

"Yes!" She exclaimed.

"Yes what?"

"It's Hartford. Hartford General."

"Well, now that that's settled, can we please get back to…" She was still ignoring him. Instead she was back to typing. "Now what are you doing?"

"Checking Hartford General's website. Hospitals put all of their openings online now. If there's an opening, I have to send them my resume and get more copies of my recommendation letters and…"

"Lexie."

"What?"

"It's been a week."

"What?"

He was tired of staring at the side of her face as she concentrated on the computer. Frustrated, he closed her laptop on her.

"No sex. For a week. No really, really good sex for a whole week. I don't usually have to do this, but I'm basically begging here."

Lexie looked at him then at her laptop and finally back at him again.

"It will only take me ten minutes to check," she said.

Mark threw his hands up into the air. "Fine," he said, heading for the couch. He flopped down on the couch and picked up the remote. Turning on the television, he began flipping through channels. He didn't really want to watch TV. If anything, watching TV was the last thing on his mind, but he didn't seem to have much of a choice.

The minutes ticked by. Mark kept looking over at Lexie, who was completely absorbed in whatever she was doing on the laptop. He wished he could do something to help her. He wished he could make her stress disappear and just give her her job back, but it didn't work that way. And, since she made it very clear that she wouldn't let him talk to the chief, he was forced to just sit and watch TV while she tried to figure out her future and he went without sex.

Mark waited a few more minutes before giving up on the TV. He turned it off and stood up.

"I'm going for food," he announced. He made his way over to the door and put his jacket on. He reached for his keys when he heard her chair slide against the porcelain floor.

"You sure about that?" She asked.

He turned around slowly. She was sitting on the kitchen table, her laptop closed beside her. But that wasn't what his eyes were focused on. She was sitting with her legs crossed. Her naked legs. Her naked body in nothing but black, lace panties and a matching bra.

"You planned this," he accused.

"A week is a long time," she responded.

"A very long time," he declared. He was in front of her in a split second, his mouth hot on hers and his hands roaming everywhere.

"By the way," he whispered, his mouth on the scar near her ear. "I love this scar." She flung her head back and laughed. "Almost as much as I love these new panties. But I'd love them more off of you."

"I'm happy to oblige, doctor," she said as she wrapped her legs around his waist and allowed him to lift her off the table.

Author's Note: All I really want to say is thank you to everyone who is reading and a special thank you to all of you who take the time to review! More to come soon!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Three Weeks Later

Lexie stared at the front doors to the hospital. It had been a month since she had walked through those doors. A month since she had seen a patient or had a scalpel in his hand. She had avoided the hospital purposely, but it was no longer avoidable. For over a week, Mark had insisted that she get out of the apartment and meet him for lunch and, since he didn't have time between surgeries to actually make it home, she had to go to the hospital.

Taking a deep breath, Lexie walked through the automatic doors and headed straight to the elevators. She pushed the 'up' button and waited a few seconds for the elevator to open. With the merging of the two hospitals, she thankfully didn't recognize anyone as she entered the full elevator. She really didn't want to deal with the questions.

When the elevator stopped on her floor, she stepped off and walked down the hallway. Mark had told her to meet him in one of the on-call rooms. She stood outside the door momentarily, listening through the door for any sounds. She knew it was important to always wait before entering the on-call room. You never knew who was in there doing something unmentionable. When she heard nothing, she opened the door.

"Oh, sorry," Lexie said as soon as she saw a body in one of the beds. She began to close the door again when the person spoke.

"It's ok, Lex, it's just me," Meredith said, sitting on the edge of the bed of the bottom bunk.

"Sorry, I should have knocked," Lexie apologized. It was obvious that Meredith had been sleeping.

"Don't worry. I've got patients I have to check up on anyway."

"Oh."

Meredith quickly slipped her hair into a ponytail.

"What are you doing here?" Meredith asked, it sounding a little harsher than she meant it. "That's not what I…I mean, of course you're welcome here anytime…"

"You're sounding like me," Lexie joked.

"Let me start that over," Meredith said. "How are you?"

Lexie thought about her answer for a minute, but she realized she didn't have the simple response that Meredith was probably expecting, so she settled on something she could say definitively.

"I'm…I've been…cleaning."

"Cleaning's…good."

"Yeah."

Lexie sat down on the bed next to Meredith and put her head down.

"What is it?" Meredith asked, sensing something was wrong.

Lexie shook her head. She shouldn't talk about it. At least not yet. Not until she told him, but she was bursting to talk to someone. To tell anyone what she was holding in her possession.

"Lexie…" Meredith prompted.

"Ok, so I know that we're not close, I mean not really close, but we are sisters and you're sort of married to my boyfriend's best friend so I'm going to tell you something, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Especially not Mark…or Derek."

"Lexie…"

"Promise."

"Ok, I promise." Lexie dug an envelope out of her purse and handed it to Meredith. "What is it?"

"A letter."

"I can see that. A letter from…"

"From Hartford General."

"Hartford General?" Lexie nodded. "As in Hartford, Connecticut? As in the number one heart hospital on the East coast?"

"That's the one. I applied." She paused. "And I sort of got the job," she said quietly.

"You got a residency at Hartford General? That's great, Lexie." Lexie shook her head. "That's not great?"

"It's in Hartford."

"It's the number one heart hospital."

"It's in Hartford," Lexie repeated.

"Oh," Meredith replied.

"I know I shouldn't even be giving this a second thought. I mean, it's a great hospital, but it's on the other side of the country. It's thousands of miles from here. When I applied, I didn't really think I'd get in, but I think Callie pulled some strings and now…now I have an acceptance letter and I don't know what to do."

"What do you want?" Meredith asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what do you want out of life?"

"I…I want to be a doctor. I've always wanted to be a doctor. I've never let anything stand in my way. I would do anything…but this…I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can…leave him."

"Maybe you should be talking to him about this."

"I can't," she said.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm afraid of what his answer will be. What if he tells me to go because he doesn't care about me? Or what if he tells me not to go? What am I supposed to do?"

"Talk to him, Lexie."

"But what if…"

"I wasted years of my life wondering what if," Meredith interrupted. "Especially when it came to Derek. And I learned that the what if's only break your heart. You need to talk to him, Lexie. You owe it to yourself and to him." Meredith's pager went off. She unclipped it from her waistband and looked at it, frowning. "I have to go. But promise me you'll talk to him."

Lexie nodded. "I will. Thanks, Meredith."

Meredith stood up and smiled. "That's what sisters are for."

Meredith left the room, leaving Lexie alone with her letter. She opened it up and read the acceptance letter again. She was supposed to start in one week. Seven days wasn't enough time. She stared at the piece of paper as if it would give her some sort of answer. Sighing, she shoved the letter back into her purse and stood up. Meredith was right. She did have to talk to Mark and it couldn't wait any longer.

As Lexie and Meredith had their sisterly bonding time, Mark walked out of the elevator, heading for Derek's office. He still had twenty minutes before he had to meet Lexie and he needed someone to talk to.

"Thank God you're here," Mark said as he sat down in a chair opposite Derek's desk. Derek was concentrating on writing up a chart.

"Bad day?" Derek asked.

"How do you do it?"

"What?"

"How do you live with an insane woman without going insane?"

"Meredith is not insane."

"Lexie's insane. She's becoming insane. She's driving me insane."

"Still cleaning?"

"Not only cleaning, but reorganizing. My underwear is not only folded, but color coded. Color coded! Who color codes their underwear?"

"Look, if she's driving you insane, why don't you do something about it?"

"What am I supposed to do? Find her a job. I've tried. There's nothing, Derek. No jobs in Seattle. No jobs in Washington at all."

"I told you what to do the minute she got the e-mail."

"What's that?"

"Talk to the chief.

"She doesn't want me to."

"What do you want?"

"What?"

"What do you want? If you want Lexie here, in Seattle, you need to fight for her. I had to fight for Meredith."

"What is it with the Grey women that make them so impossible?"

"Can't tell you, but I can tell you, it's worth it."

Mark glanced down at his watch. He still had fifteen minutes. He stood up and walked out of the room, a new sense of determination overcoming him. He briskly walked through the hallways, ignoring everyone and everything. He walked right up to the chief's door and rapped his hands against the door.

"Not now," the chief answered through the closed door. That had become the chief's general response, 'not now.' It had been impossible for anyone to talk to him. He was hiding himself behind closed doors, but that was about to end.

Mark pushed the door open and walked in, putting his hands on his hips.

"I said not now," the chief said, shuffling through some papers on his desk.

"Sorry, sir but this can't wait."

"Is anyone dying?"

"What?"

"Did you burst into my office to tell me that someone was dying and desperately needed my assistance?"

"No."

"Then it can wait."

Richard turned back to the papers he was looking over. The red numbers swirled around in his head. He was tired of numbers. Tired of very large, red numbers that meant more cuts and more people hating his guts.

"It can't wait."

Richard looked up aggravated. "Mark…"

"Give Lexie her job back."

"Excuse me?"

"Give Lexie her job back."

Richard looked Mark straight in the eye, glaring at him. He was tired of people telling him how to do his job and he was tired of people blaming him for what had to happen.

"How dare you come in here and…"

"She's good. She's one of the best second year residents we've had. She's put more hours in the OR than any of the other residents and she's dedicated and…"

"And you're sleeping with her!" Richard shouted.

"Excuse me?"

"You're sleeping with her," Richard repeated, his anger boiling over.

"Is that a question or a statement?" Mark asked, his own anger building. He didn't expect that even though Lexie predicted he would.

Richard ignored him. "I can't give everyone you've ever slept with their job back!"

"That's not fair."

"Isn't it? I don't see you asking for Nurse Taylor's job back even though you slept with her or Dr. Harper or…"

"This is NOT about Lexie and I sleeping together. This is about who's deserving. Lexie deserves this!"

"So do dozens of other people I had to let go."

Mark approached his desk. "I am asking you as a friend to just think it over. If you want the best residents on your staff, you need Lexie."

"I'm not your friend," Richard stated simply. "I'm your boss. I run this hospital and sometimes that means making difficult decisions. Now get out."

Mark sighed. Lexie had been right. Talking to the chief hadn't done anything. Giving up, Mark headed for the door. He opened it and walked out in the hallway, but then turned back towards Richard's office.

"I understand that you've had to make difficult decisions. I don't envy you. But you don't need to do it this way. You don't need to shut your door and refuse to talk to your staff. You don't need to send e-mails to tell people that they're fired. You need to stand up and be a man and face your decisions."

Angrily, Richard stood up and met Mark at the door. "You don't get to tell me what to do! You might be a good plastic surgeon, but that's all you are. You're a man who sleeps around! You even slept with your best friend's wife and now you're sleeping with your best friend's wife's sister…someone you should never have been with in the first place…"

Mark felt something snap. He had to consciously refrain himself from choking Richard.

"Lexie and I have every right to be together! And there is more to us than sex! Much more! I…I…I love her."

He blurted it out without thinking about it. Surprised at himself, he took a few steps back. The anger seeped from him as he thought about his words. Love. It was a word he rarely used, at least not when he really meant it. He had said it, but had he meant it?

He heard a sob from behind him. Mark turned around to see Lexie standing just behind him. Tears were streaming down her face. Derek and Callie were a few feet away, each holding a chart. As soon as Mark saw them, they both pretended to be thoroughly engrossed in their charts even though Derek knew they were watching and listening to everything.

"Lexie…" Mark said, realizing she had heard the whole thing. She looked at him once before running down the hall, her tears coming faster. "Lexie!" Mark's pager went off. "Damn it." He looked down at the 911 call. "How much of that did she hear?" Mark asked.

"I think she tuned in just in time to hear that you slept with Nurse Taylor," Derek answered.

"And Dr. Harper," Callie added.

"That was way before Lexie," Mark defended. His pager went off again. The same 911 from the ER.

"You going to answer that?" Derek asked.

"I've got to find Lexie."

"Callie will find Lexie."

"Wait…what?" Callie stuttered.

"You're a girl," Derek explained.

"So?" Callie asked.

"She needs a girl," Derek said. "She needs girl talk."

"Where's Meredith? She's a girl. Not to mention her sister. Or Stevens. Stevens is good with that girly stuff."

Mark looked at her, pleadingly as his pager went off for a third time. He wanted to go after her himself, but duty called. And besides, he wasn't exactly sure what he'd say to her. He wasn't even sure what he was thinking.

"Fine," Callie finally agreed. "But you owe me."

Author's Note:

So, this was a difficult chapter to write because I had an idea of what I wanted to happen, but I couldn't figure out how to have it all come together and make sense. However, I'm finally happy with it and I hope you enjoy!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Callie finally found Lexie twenty minutes later. She had looked everywhere for her. In every lounge, every on-call room, every operating room, but she wasn't in the hospital, she was on top of it. Lexie was leaning over the edge of the roof, looking down and watching as people came and went to and from the hospital.

"I don't want to talk," Lexie said as she heard Callie approach. She wiped her hand over her eyes, trying to make her tears disappear.

"Good, because I'm not much of a talker," Callie replied.

Lexie turned around, surprised at Callie's voice.

"Oh, it's you."

"Thanks for the warm welcome."

"Sorry. I just thought you were…"

"Mark?" Callie walked over to her and stood beside her, leaning on the same ledge. "Why do people go to the roof?"

"What?"

"Why, when we're upset, do we all go to the roof? What is it about the roof?"

"It's calm up here," Lexie explained. "Not to mention that if you're truly depressed, you can always jump off and make it all better."

Callie laughed nervously, but Lexie didn't. "You're kidding, right?"

"Kidding," Lexie said although her voice didn't seem like she was kidding.

Callie cleared her throat, wondering where to begin. "Mark slept with Nurse Taylor and Dr. Harper before he met you."

"What?"

"He didn't cheat on you, Lexie, not with them, not with anybody else. He's never cheated on you."

Lexie nodded. "I know that. I've always trusted Mark. I've always been able to see beyond what everyone else sees. I mean, I'm not naïve, I know he has a…reputation, but I know he's never cheated on me."

"Then what is it? Why are we standing on the roof?" Lexie didn't answer. "Is it that he told you he loved you? Because usually when a girl's boyfriend tells her he loves her for what I presume is the first time, the girl doesn't go crying up to the roof."

"I thought you weren't much of a talker," Lexie said.

Callie shrugged. "Just trying to help. But, if you'd rather be alone…"

Callie turned back towards the roof exit when Lexie began to speak.

"He didn't tell me."

"What?"

"He didn't tell _me_ he loved me. He told the chief. He told you and Derek and the whole hospital, but he didn't tell me. He didn't even know that I was standing there. As matter of fact, I'm pretty sure if he did know I was standing there, he wouldn't have said it at all. And what if he didn't mean it?"

As Lexie spoke, Callie wondered why she was even still standing there. Sure, she had agreed to find Lexie for some girl talk, but talking about love and feelings was not part of the deal. Not to mention that they weren't even particularly close. Lexie had always just been Mark's girlfriend and nothing more. But she knew she was going to have to suck it up and do what she had been asked to do. Mark was her best friend and she would do anything for him, even if it meant talking to his weepy girlfriend.

"Why would you say that?" Callie asked.

"What if he didn't mean it? He only said it because he was arguing with the chief. And he was arguing about something I told him not to argue about in the first place. He didn't say he loved me because he meant it. He said it because he wanted to win a fight."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do."

"How?"

"Because he's Mark Sloan and Mark Sloan doesn't say that and mean it."

"Maybe that's his reputation. The one you said you could see through."

Lexie took a deep breath. "I don't know."

"Look, I know Mark. I know who he is and who he used to be and those are two very different people. When I first met Mark, he wouldn't even call a woman after he'd been in her pants, no matter date her. But you…he broke that rule with you."

Lexie went back to looking over the roof.

"What if I don't want him to break that rule?"

"You don't want him to say he loves you?"

Lexie winced at the word. "I'm not saying that, I just…" she dug inside her purse and held out the envelope.

"What's that?"

"An acceptance letter. You know that friend you called for me?"

"At Hartford General?"

"They want me. I got the job."

Callie smiled. "That's a good thing isn't it?" Lexie shook her head. "Let me guess, you haven't told Mark."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't know what to do. I know that I have feelings for Mark, very strong feelings, but I need to be a doctor and Connecticut is apparently the only place I can do that."

"So why can't you be a doctor in Connecticut and be with Mark? I mean, long distance relationships are hard, but they're doable."

Lexie shook her head. "I don't believe in long distance relationships. They start off fine, but something always gone wrong and I don't want to drag it out. And Mark…he's a superstar here. I could never ask him to move with me…"

"Move with you?" Callie asked. Her smile suddenly turned into a frown. The thought had never occurred to her that she could be the one to lose Mark.

"Well, that would really be the only other option," Lexie said.

Callie took a deep breath, knowing what she was about to say was selfish, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't lose her best friend. Not after losing George. She couldn't lose her best friend.

"Mark's never had a loving family," Callie said. "He's set up a life here. He's finally settled down and set up a life here in Seattle. A good life."

"I know. He has Derek and you and…"

"He has a good life," she interrupted. "A stable life. He deserves to keep it that way. He deserves to stay with his family. And Derek and I…we're his family. You can't take that away from him."

Lexie nodded, understanding completely. She knew what she was going to have to do for both of them to get what they wanted, even though it meant breaking her heart.

*****

She couldn't help the tears. They just wouldn't stop. She had been crying a lot lately, not that she told anyone that. Not even Mark. She would be in the middle of washing the dishes or cleaning the bathroom and she would just burst into tears. Not having a job was taking its toll. But she wasn't crying because she didn't have a job. Now she had a much better reason.

Lexie finished cleaning out her drawer, placing the last of her clothes into her suitcase. She was grateful that she hadn't brought that much stuff over to Mark's. At least that meant less stuff she needed to pack. She was about to zip her suitcase closed, when she saw a small piece of black lace sticking out. She opened her suitcase and looked at the pair of blank panties she knew Mark loved. She held them in her hands, staring at them. They were only underwear made of fabric, but they were so much more than that.

Lexie opened the drawer where Mark kept his boxers and buried her panties under some of his shorts. She didn't know why she did it, but it felt right. As she was about to close the drawer, she spotted her favorite pair of boxers. They were a pair of striped plaid ones that she loved for no other reason than they made her think of him. She snatched them up and threw them into her suitcase just as she heard the apartment door open. She took a deep breath. She had been hoping she could make it out of the apartment without seeing him, but he was there.

A minute later, Mark appeared in the bedroom doorway. Lexie looked over at her and nearly lost her nerve. He hadn't bothered to take off his leather jacket, which just happened to be her favorite. She was mentally cursing him out in her head for looking so damn sexy in that jacket.

"We need to talk," he said simply. She didn't reply. "Lexie…" He cut himself off when he saw the suitcase on the bed. "What are you doing?"

"This isn't working," she managed to say.

"Lexie, if this is about what I said…"

"Everyone was right. We're not meant to be together."

He walked to the side of the bed so they were opposite each other with the bed between them.

"What? How can you…how can you say that?"

She had to calm herself down and remind herself that what she was doing was best for both of them. She needed to be a doctor and he needed the stable life he never had. Being together wouldn't allow either of them to have what they wanted.

"Look at us. We've got nothing in common and..."

"Nothing in common? You're moving out because we've got nothing in common? Lexie…"

She cut him off. She couldn't let him talk. Hearing his voice only made her want him more. "We had a good time while it lasted. But…but it's over."

"Don't say that."

This time he walked around the bed to be next to her, but she moved away.

"You're a brilliant surgeon. And I'm…I'm just me. I'm a student, I'm still learning. You should be with someone who's…up to you standards."

"Up to my standards? Lexie, do you know how amazing you are? How in awe of you I am every day?" He stepped closer to her.

"Please don't."

"I don't know if this is just because you're scared or worried or unsure about what I said, but…" he reached for her hand. "I want you to know that I meant it."

She twisted her hand out of his grip. "You don't mean that." She had to turn away from him as her eyes began to water again. This was harder than she even imagined it could be.

"Yes, I do. Lexie, I love you."

She choked back a sob. She knew what she had to do. She turned to him and looked him straight in the eye.

"I don't love you," she said. She felt her heart break as she saw his face fall. He backed up against the bed and sat. She hated seeing him like this. She hated doing this to him, but she had to. "It's only ever been about the sex."

He stood up, anger in his eyes.

"That's not true," he stated.

She nodded. "I was just using you to get more OR time."

"I don't believe you."

She could see the hurt in his eyes, but she continued. "That's the truth."

"Why are you doing this?" He asked, his head hanging low.

"Because I need to move on." Lexie took her suitcase off the bed. "We both need to move on." She went to put her hand over his, but he pulled away. All she wanted was one more touch and he was denying her. She knew she deserved it. There was only one thing left to say. "Goodbye Mark."

*****

Lexie stood in front of the closed door. She wasn't sure if she should knock again. She was about turn around and go back to her car, even though she didn't know where she would go, when the door opened.

"Lexie?" Meredith asked, wearing an oversized sweatshirt and little else.

Lexie turned to face Meredith. "I'm sorry. I know it's late. I don't have anywhere else to go."

"What happened to your key?" Meredith asked.

"I…I didn't feel right using it. This is your home…"

"Lexie, I might not always show it, but you're my sister. This will always be your home too. Come in."

Dragging her suitcase behind her, Lexie followed Meredith into the house.

"I'm going to Hartford," Lexie announced as Meredith closed the door.

"Is that why you're here instead of at Mark's?" Meredith walked over to the couch and sat down. "Derek told me what happened in the chief's office."

Lexie nodded. "I broke up with Mark."

"What? Why?"

"Because I'm going to Hartford."

"So?"

"So. Can you honestly imagine Mark Sloan in a long distance relationship? I'd rather end it now before things get too…deep."

"He told you he loved you, Lexie. For Mark Sloan, it's already deep."

Lexie shrugged and flopped down on the couch next to Meredith. "It's over. That's the end of it. Tomorrow night I'll be on a flight to Connecticut."

"Don't you think you two should just talk about this? I mean, not all long distance relationships fail."

"This one would."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do. Mark likes sex."

"That's the understatement of the century."

Lexie managed a small smile. "He likes sex a lot and if we're living on opposite sides of the country, we won't be able to have sex. And if we can't have sex, Mark will…"

"Cheat on you? Is that what you're afraid of?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. It's more than that. It's just…I can't imagine being with him and not actually being with him. Do you know what I mean?"

Meredith nodded. "But that doesn't mean you can't try. If it doesn't work out…"

"No, I don't want to go down that path. I just can't."

"Fine, but there are other options. What about Mark moving to Connecticut with you? I mean, did you even talk about it?"

"I really don't want to talk about this," Lexie said, standing up. "What's done is done."

"Yeah, but Lex…"

"I said I don't want to talk about it," Lexie nearly shouted. She could hear Callie's words in the back of her mind, reminding her that she was doing the right thing.

"Ok. I'm sorry."

Lexie dropped back down onto the couch. "No, I'm sorry. It's just been a very long day."

"Well, no matter what happens between you and Mark, what about us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Lexie, you're my sister. Are we not allowed to have a long distance relationship, too?"

Lexie smiled. "You really want to keep in touch?"

"Of course I do. You'll have to tell me all about Hartford. And, if you ever get some time off, you'll have to come back and visit."

"I don't know if that will be such a good idea," Lexie said, thinking about how impossible it would be to see Mark again. Even though it broke her heart to say it, it was easier to never see him again. "But maybe you could come to Hartford? I heard the fall is really nice in New England."

Meredith nodded. "Ok." She looked over as the clock chimed, hitting midnight. "But for right now, I should be going to bed. I have the early shift tomorrow. Your room's still set up in the attic upstairs."

Meredith headed for the stairs.

"Thank you, Meredith. Thank you for…being my sister."

Meredith smiled before disappearing upstairs. Lexie stayed on the couch, wondering how she was supposed to be able to sleep without Mark's arms around her.

Author's Note:

Sorry it took me so long to post this one, but I really wanted to get it right. Thank you for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Mark felt like someone had cut him open and ripped out his heart. His body felt numb from head to toe. He couldn't think about anything but her and the more he thought about her, the more it hurt. He had never experienced anything like it and the worst part was, there was no cure. He couldn't just take a drug or get plenty of liquids and rest to make it go away. It was there to stay. He wondered if it would ever go away. He tried to deny what was making him feel the way he felt. Heartbreak was not a word he understood. To be heartbroken meant that you had to have a heart to break and Mark Sloan didn't have a heart, at least not one that fell in love with women. He had spent years training himself not to fall in love just to avoid moments and feelings like the ones he was having. But he couldn't deny it. Lexie had woken up his heart and had subsequently broken it.

Mark walked out of the elevator and towards the surgical board. He knew he had at least at two surgeries lined up for the day. He wasn't in the mood to perform either of them. He had debated calling in and telling everyone that he had a twenty-four hour stomach flu, but staying at home was worse. Staying at his apartment reminded him of her. Even with none of her belongings there, everything reminded him of her. The bed where they made love so many times, the dining room table where Lexie had attempted to cook and serve a romantic dinner that turned out so burnt and chewy that they ended up getting take-out instead, even the sparkling clean toilet reminded him of her.

"You look like hell," Derek stated as he walked up behind Mark.

"I feel worse," Mark replied.

He didn't even bother to look at Derek. He didn't want to be talking to anyone at all, not even Derek.

"I heard Lexie up in the attic this morning," Derek commented. Mark didn't say anything in response. "Are you going to tell me why my sister-in-law was in my house last night and not yours?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"So, what did you fight about?"

"What?"

"If Lexie was in my attic, you must have fought about something. What was it?"

"I told you I didn't want to…"

"Talk about it, yeah, I know." Derek paused, not ready to let the discussion go. "Just tell me you didn't try to take back out of what you said to the chief because that is something you just can't take back."

"I didn't try to back out."

Mark reached for the eraser and erased his name off the board. He really wasn't up for two surgeries and it was an elective cosmetic surgery anyway.

"Then what happened?"

"How many times do I have to tell you, I really don't want to talk about it."

Mark began to walk down the hall. He didn't want to talk about it and he didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about anything, but he couldn't get the image of Lexie telling him she didn't love him out of her head. That was the moment that hurt the most.

"Whatever happened," Derek said as he began to follow Mark, "Lexie's upset about it."

Mark stopped and turned around. "What do you mean?"

"I heard her crying."

Mark wasn't sure if that made him feel better or not. He hated seeing her cry, but knowing that she was upset over breaking up with him did give him some hope.

"Crying?"

"Sobbing's more like it. So whatever happened, she's obviously upset about it. My advice? Buy her something pretty, apologize, and everything will turn out ok."

Mark sighed, wishing it were that simple.

"It's not going to be ok and buying her something isn't going to fix it."

"Are you really going to make me stand here and guess what happened?" Mark didn't reply. "Talk to me, Mark."

"She didn't want to hear it."

"Hear what?"

"She didn't want to hear that I love her."

"Well, maybe she was just upset that you said it to the chief and not to her. If you just talk to her, she'll…"

"I'm not stupid, Derek. I might not have as many long-term relationships under my belt as you do, but I know how to talk to a woman!" He snapped.

"Ok, forget it," Derek said, ready to walk away.

Mark sighed. He hadn't meant to yell, especially not when he knew Derek was only trying to help. "I told her that I meant what I said in front of the chief. I told her that I loved her, but you know what she said to me?"

"What?"

"She said we had nothing in common. She said she was using me to get more time in the OR and that our relationship was just about the sex. She said she didn't love me and then…then she broke up with me."

"What?" Derek repeated loudly.

"Don't make me say it again," Mark said. "I already feel humiliated. I've never been…broken up with before. I usually do the breaking."

"Apparently not with Lexie. After all, she's the one who broke your…"

"That's not funny."

"Sorry." Derek paused. "You know, maybe this is all for the best."

"For the best? How can you say that?"

"Well, you don't exactly do the best in long distance relationships. Remember Rebecca in college? You two were only three hours apart and you couldn't make it. So maybe it's better that you end it now than to drag it out."

"Wait…what? What are you talking about?"

"Lexie? Hartford General?" Mark's face looked perplexed. "Going away party tonight at Joe's?"

"What?"

"She didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"I…Meredith…I probably shouldn't be saying anything," Derek stuttered. "I've got to get to surgery." Derek began to walk away.

"You step another foot and I'll slug you, Derek Shepard." Derek stopped. "Now what are you talking about?"

"I really shouldn't…"

"Why are you talking about Lexie and a long distance relationship and what do you mean she's having a going away party at Joe's?" Mark asked through gritted teeth. His brain was on overdrive. He was hurt and confused and all he wanted to do was see Lexie.

Derek sighed. "Lexie's going to Connecticut. She got a job at Hartford General."

"What?"

"I take it she didn't tell you."

"No. She didn't tell me."

"Well, I'm sure she had her reasons," Derek said even though he couldn't think of one single reason why Lexie would leave and not tell Mark, but it seemed like the right thing to say.

"Her reasons?! Damn it, Derek, she's leaving and she didn't tell me! What reasons could she have for that?!"

"I…"

"Forget it!" Mark yelled, storming off.

"Mark!"

"And thanks for having the confidence in me to carry out a long distance relationship. You're a great friend."

"That's not what I…" Mark disappeared down the stairwell. "Meant."

Mark took out his cell phone and speed dialed Lexie. It went straight to voicemail. He threw the phone against the wall. It shattered on contact. He didn't care. He didn't care about anything except that she had lied to him.

Mark slid down to the floor. He covered his face with his hands. The pain he was feeling before doubled. There was only one thing Mark knew how to do. If Lexie was going to lie to him then he would gladly play along.

*****

Hours later, Mark stood outside of Joe's. He had been there for nearly ten minutes, just waiting. He knew she was inside. She was inside with all of their friends having one last farewell drink and it was killing him. It was killing him that she was in there and he was outside, that she was leaving and hadn't even bothered to tell him, and that she was smiling and laughing and having a good time without him.

Inside, though, Lexie was having anything but a good time. Sure, all of her friends from the hospital were there wishing her good luck, but it wasn't the same without him. She missed him even more than she realized she ever would. She hated lying to him. She had nearly dialed his number a dozen times to tell him the truth. She wanted to tell him that what she told him was a lie and that she truly loved him. She wanted to come clean about having to make the move for her career, but she never pressed the 'send' button on her phone. She just kept trying to convince herself that what she was doing was right. And yet, she didn't feel right.

Meredith put a drink in front of her, smiling.

"You're supposed to be having a good time," Meredith reminded her. "It's your party."

"I know," Lexie replied.

She picked up the drink, but didn't drink it. She just didn't feel like drinking. She felt like finding him and running into his arms and never letting go.

"Then why aren't you smiling?" Meredith asked.

Lexie looked over to where Christina and Hunt were playing darts. Even though they appeared to be bickering, probably over who was the better darts player, Hunt had his hand on Christina's waist. It was a simple gesture, but it meant everything. Lexie realized she would never have that again with Mark.

"Maybe I should just go," Lexie said.

"Do I need to remind you again that this is your party?" Meredith asked.

"I know. I'm just not in the partying mood."

"You didn't have to break up with him."

"Yes I did," Lexie said quietly.

"No you didn't. Lex, Derek says he's a mess. He loves you. You two can make this work. It won't be easy, but you can make it work."

"I don't want to talk about him."

Lexie downed her drink.

"Lexie…" Meredith said.

"Enough," Lexie said. "What's done is done." She knew Meredith was just trying to help, but Lexie had already made her decision and she had to stick with it.

"Can I buy you another one?" Derek asked, walking over.

"No thanks," Lexie answered. "I should be getting to the airport…"

"To the airport? Lexie, you still have five hours," Meredith said.

"I'm sorry, I just…I need to go."

Lexie slid off the bar stool and went to grab her coat from a nearby hook. She turned towards the door and gasped as it opened. Derek and Meredith both followed her gaze and looked to the door.

Mark walked into the bar. He stood at the doorway. He noticed her immediately. She looked pale and her eyes were red and puffy as if she had been crying. Seeing her like that tugged at his heart. He hated knowing that she was crying, but then he remembered what he had gone there to do and he had to tare his eyes away from her.

"You told him?" Meredith asked Derek.

"I didn't know he didn't know," Derek defended.

"Wait, you told Mark?" Lexie questioned Derek. "And you told Derek?" She asked, turning to Meredith.

"He's my husband."

"Sister trumps husband!" Lexie exclaimed.

"Half-sister," Derek corrected. "And I don't think that's quite true."

"I trusted you!" Lexie stated.

"He was going to find out anyway, Lexie. What do you think? You can just run away and he wouldn't notice?" Meredith replied.

"I'm out of here," Lexie said.

"Lexie, you're going to have to talk to him," Meredith said, grabbing her arm.

"No, I don't." Lexie threw her jacket on as Mark began to slowly approach her.

But instead of walking over to Lexie, Mark stopped a few tables before. He slid into a seat next to a gorgeous blonde that Lexie didn't recognize. She watched as he leaned over and whispered in the woman's ear.

"What is he…" Derek began to ask.

Mark's put his arm around the woman, his fingers playing with her long, blonde hair.

Lexie immediately felt the tears stinging her eyes. She had never been a violent women, but she wanted to physically hurt the woman more than she had ever wanted anything before.

"I have to go," Lexie breathed.

"Derek, stop him," Meredith pleaded.

"No," Lexie said with as much strength as she could muster. "He's free to do…" she watched as Mark leaned over the woman and kissed her. Lexie grabbed Meredith's drink and gulped it down. "He's free to do what he wants."

Lexie stormed out of the bar, her tears falling before the door even closed behind her. She ran down the sidewalk, letting herself cry freely. She hated crying, but she hated the feeling in her chest even more. She loved him. It was plain and simple. She loved him and she was about to walk away.

In the bar, Mark watched her walk out. As soon as she was gone, he stood up, leaving the blonde confused. Mark saw the look on Lexie's face when he had sat next to the blonde. She was hurting and he was the cause. He thought it would make him feel better, making her feel jealous that he was with another woman. But it didn't make him feel better. It made him feel worse.

"What were you thinking?" Derek questioned as he walked up to the Mark.

"Stay out of this."

"No. You go from telling a woman that you love her one minute to jumping into bed with another woman the next minute. What is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? This is me, Derek. This is who I've always been. I'm Mark Sloan, manwhore. Besides, this is what you expected, isn't it? This is why you told me to stay away from Little Grey in the first place. Because I'd break her heart. Well, congratulations, you were right. I broke her heart."

"And what about your heart?"

"I don't have a heart. Not anymore."

"If you love her, you need to go after her."

"She's halfway to the airport by now."

"That shouldn't stop you."

"No, but the fact that she doesn't love me does stop me. She doesn't love me, Derek. And who can blame her?"

Mark headed for the door.

"Mark!" Derek called after him. He hated seeing his friend so distraught. Derek and Mark may have had their differences and fallouts, but Derek wasn't about to let Mark walk away from something as important as love.

"Forget it, Derek. I'm going back to being me. Mark Sloan manwhore."

Mark stormed out, letting the door slam behind him.

Author's Note: So, this chapter was definitely a challenging one. I've been working on this chapter for a while and it seemed as if I kept adding and subtracting from it and then rewriting it over and over again. Finally, I just had to post it and hope that it's ok. I want to thank everyone for their awesome reviews. Reading them really is the best part of my day. Thank you!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Three Weeks Later

Derek walked into the gallery over OR 3. He sat down next to Meredith, who was watching the surgery below. Two interns sat in the corner, looking like they were about to fall asleep.

"Hey," Derek said.

"Hey yourself."

"How's it going?"

"Mark's just closing the wound," Meredith explained.

"I didn't know you were interested in plastics," Derek stated.

"I'm not, but the on-call room is being…used right now and I needed somewhere quiet to sit."

Derek nodded, knowing exactly how she was feeling. It was impossible to find a quiet spot in a busy hospital. As if on cue to break the silence, Meredith's cell phone beeped. She took it out of her pocket and flipped it open. She smiled and began punching buttons on her phone.

"Who could you possibly be texting when everyone you know is currently in surgery?"

Meredith didn't answer for a minute as she finished her text. "Lexie."

"Lexie? Isn't it like the middle of the night where she is?"

"Four AM," Meredith specified.

"What is Lexie doing up at 4 AM?"

"Third shift."

"Ouch. You've been texting her a lot."

"Well, we like to keep in touch."

"Does she ever talk to you about Mark?"

"Are you asking me because you're my husband and you're really worried about my sister or are you asking me because you're Mark's best friend?"

"The man doesn't sleep. He barely eats. He doesn't even have sex anymore. He's broken. I'm his best friend and I'm a surgeon. I don't do well with broken. I like to fix. I want to fix my best friend."

"Then you're asking me as Mark's best friend," she concluded.

"Has she mentioned him?" He asked.

She sighed. She wanted Mark and Lexie back together as much as Derek, but any time she broached the subject with Lexie she tuned out and refused to speak about him.

"She hasn't talked about him. Not once. But she's hurting."

"How can you tell?"

"Because she doesn't ramble."

"What?"

"Went Lexie's excited, she rambles. She hasn't rambled. Not like she used to ramble in front of Mark."

"So what are we going to do?"

"We are not going to anything."

"How can we not do anything?"

"Because we need to respect their decision."

"Looks to me like all of this was Lexie's decision. She didn't even tell him she was leaving."

"I'm sure she had a good reason."

"Wait…she didn't tell you? She didn't tell you why she was leaving?"

"She left because she needed a job."

"But why break up with Mark? Why not at least try a long distance relationship?"

Meredith shrugged. "She was afraid that it wouldn't work out."

"That's it?" Meredith shrugged. "There's more. I can tell there's more."

"All I know is when I talked to her that morning she broke up with him, she was going to talk to him about options. Then, he tells her…or doesn't tell her…that he loves her, she talks to Callie, and all of a sudden she's decided she's going to leave without telling him."

"Callie!"

"What?"

"She talked to Callie."

"So?"

"Callie's no good at girl talk."

"Ok, neither am I."

"Yeah, but Callie's worse."

"How would you know? How many girl talk conversations have you had with Callie?"

Derek ignored her. "We have to talk to Callie."

He stood up, kissed Meredith on the top of the head, and rushed out of the room.

"Wait…Derek!"

But it was too late. He was gone.

Derek frantically searched for Callie. He paged her, but only got a 'I'm busy' as a response. After walking through half the hospital, he finally found her in one of the exam rooms down on the first floor, putting a cast on a young boy's arm. She wrapped around the last piece of wet gauze and gently molded it onto his arm.

"Dr. Torres," Derek said, walking into the room. "May I have a word?"

Callie picked up a nearby towel and began drying her hands. "We'll just let this dry and you'll be all set," Callie said, more to the worrying mother who was sitting next to the boy than the boy himself.

"Thank you doctor," the woman said.

Callie smiled her fake 'you're welcome' smile and walked out of the room with Derek. He pulled her into a nearby, empty exam room.

"Derek, what are you…"

"What did you say to Lexie?"

"What? I haven't talked to Lexie in…"

"Since that day I asked you to have girl talk with her?"

Callie furrowed her brow. "Why do I have a feeling I'm walking into some sort of trap here?"

"I just want to know what you told her."

"Let me remind you that you and Mark all but forced me into talking to Lexie that day even though I told you that I wasn't any good at girl talk."

"I just want to know what you told her."

"Nothing. I was just being…supportive. Isn't that what girls are supposed to do?"

Derek sighed. He wasn't getting anywhere. "Have you seen Mark recently?"

"Of course."

"And?"

"And what?"

"And how does he seem to you?"

"Mark? He's…he seems fine."

"Are we talking about the same Mark?"

Callie sat down on the gurney in the room. She knew exactly where Derek was leading the conversation and she knew exactly what she did. Sure, it was selfish, but she needed Mark.

"Alright so he's…"

"Heartbroken," Derek finished.

"Well, I wouldn't call it heartbroken." Derek looked at her quizzically. "Ok, so maybe a little heartbroken."

"I just want to know what you said to her."

"How do you know that Lexie leaving had anything to do with me?"

"Because I'm married to a Grey. I understand how they work. Lexie wouldn't make any rash decisions without getting advice from someone else so I want to know what you said to her."

"Why are you so interested in the first place?"

"Stop avoiding the question."

"I'll stop avoiding the question if you answer my question first. Why do you care about Lexie?"

"Because Mark is my best friend and with Lexie gone, he's hurting. And I don't like to see Mark hurting. Not to mention that Lexie doesn't ramble."

"She doesn't ramble?"

"Forget it. Now it's your turn. What did you say to Lexie?"

Callie took a deep breath. "I might have mentioned that Mark's home was here in Seattle."

"And?" Derek prompted.

"And that it had taken his entire life to build a home and that he should stay in his home and Lexie shouldn't ask him to leave his home."

"You said what?"

"Look, I had just lost George and Mark is my friend…my only friend…and I didn't want to see him move, which you know he would have done if Lexie asked him to, so I might have suggested that she should just go and let him stay here and live his life and…"

"And be your best friend?"

"Don't judge me."

"So you thought only about yourself. Did you ever stop to think about Mark? About what Mark wants? Did you ever think about that?"

"Of course I thought about Mark. I thought he would get over it. I thought he would realize that he wasn't really in love with her. I mean, he couldn't possibly…I mean, he's Mark. He doesn't fall in love."

"Maybe the Mark I grew up with and the Mark who first walked into this hospital didn't fall in love. But the Mark after-Lexie…that Mark was different."

Callie swallowed a lump in her throat. "Oh God. He really was in love."

Derek nodded. "He loved her. And, if we want the after-Lexie Mark back, _he_ needs to realize that."

*****

Immediately after his surgery, Mark headed to Joe's. It was barely five o'clock, but he didn't care. He needed a drink. He had needed a lot of drinks since Lexie left. Lexie. He hated thinking about her, but he couldn't help it. She was always on his mind.

"Starting early today, Dr. Sloan?" Joe asked as he put Mark's usual down on the counter. Mark didn't reply. He didn't feel like talking. Joe let it go and walked away.

Mark downed his drink, staring straight ahead. Someone sat down beside him, but he didn't notice. He didn't care.

"Heard your surgery went well," Richard sat as he shrugged off his jacket.

"I'm really not in the mood for company," Mark stated.

"Yeah, me either."

Richard ordered his drink from Joe and sat beside Mark in silence. Mark glanced over at him and watched the chief slowly sipping his drink. He had ordered a beer, but didn't look like he was really interested in drinking it. Mark ordered his second drink and downed it.

"Just say what you came here to say," Mark said.

"I didn't come here to say anything," Richard replied.

"Well, you certainly didn't come here to drink so if you didn't come here to talk and you didn't come here to drink, what did you come here to do?"

"Pick up women?" Richard joked. Mark smiled. For the first time in a long time, he smiled. But it was short-lived. "Actually, I did come here to talk."

"So talk," Mark stated even though he really didn't want to talk. He was tired of talking. Derek tried to get him to talk. Even Hunt once took him out for a beer and tried to get him to talk, but he didn't want to talk. He just wanted to stop feeling.

"I know you hate me because I let Dr. Grey go."

"I don't want to talk about Lex…Dr. Grey."

Richard continued. "And you hate me even more because I wouldn't give her her job back."

"I said, I don't want to…"

"I need to apologize to you for being completely out of line. When you came to me that day, I shouldn't have said what I said. What you and Dr. Grey did during your personal time…what you meant to each other…it was none of my business."

"We're through," Mark said, standing up. He did not want to be having this conversation.

"No, we're not." Richard put his hand on Mark's shoulder and Mark sat back down on his stool. "Dr. Grey was one of the best interns I've seen in my career and I've been doing this a long time. She would have been an amazing resident and an even more amazing surgeon."

"Then why did you cut her?" Mark questioned angrily.

"Because next week I'm sending out another round of e-mails."

"What?"

"The cuts are going to keep on coming, Mark. They're not going to stop. No one is safe. Especially not the interns or residents. I wanted to give Lexie a chance."

"A chance for what?"

"A chance to have a career. A lasting career. If I had let her stay here, she would have been cut eventually. Maybe not this round or maybe not the next round, but they're restructuring the way things work. They're making budget cuts so often that there may not be interns and residents in the future. I wanted to give her the opportunity to go somewhere where she could learn, grow, and become the best doctor she could be without having to worry about being cut."

Mark sighed. "Why didn't you tell me this before? And why not tell Lexie?"

"Do you know how many people I've had to cut, Mark? At least a hundred and there will be a hundred more. I can't pick favorites, Mark. I can't tell one person she's being cut because I want her to have a chance and then tell another that he's being cut because he's just not good enough."

"You could have told Lexie. At least then she would have understood. Do you know how long she questioned whether or not she was good enough while all along she's been too good? You should have told her."

"Maybe you're right. Being the chief is a difficult job, Mark. I welcome you to try." Richard stood up. "And now, I'm going home."

He pulled out his wallet and put enough cash on the bar to cover both his and Mark's drinks and then left the bar. Mark signaled Joe and got another drink. He knew the chief was trying to make him feel better by telling him that he had a positive reason for firing Lexie, but it didn't help. The bottom line was, Lexie was still gone.

"You love her," a voice said from behind him. Mark turned and saw Callie standing behind him. She was still dressed in her scrubs as if she had just walked out of the hospital and right over to Joe's, which she had.

"What are you…"

"You love her," she repeated.

"Are you drunk?"

Callie picked up Mark's drink and drank it down in one gulp. "No. Not yet anyway."

"Go away, Callie," Mark said, looking at his empty glass.

Callie sat next to him where the chief was and grabbed his face, forcing him to look at her.

"Look at me," she instructed.

"What is it with everyone? Why does everyone want to talk to me today? Why does everybody want to talk to me right now when all I want to do is get drunk out of my mind?"

"Because you shouldn't be here."

"I'm sorry?"

"Do you love her?"

"Seriously, Torres, you're creeping me out."

"Do you love her?" She repeated.

"I'm not talking about this."

"Yes you are. Now tell me. Say it out loud. Do you love her?"

Mark looked over at Callie. He thought about Lexie. How she giggled when he kissed her neck. How she looked in the morning lying next to her. How she stumbled over her words when she was nervous. He loved her. He had always loved her.

"Yes," he whispered.

"What was that?"

"Yes," he repeated louder. "I love her."

"Then why are you here? Why are you here and not in Hartford?"

"Because she broke up with me. It's not about whether or not I love her, it's about whether or not she loves me and the answer is no. She doesn't love me and I have to live with that. I have to live with the fact that the one woman I've ever loved doesn't love me back."

"But that's not true."

"What?"

"She does love you."

"Don't. Don't just say things to me that you think I want to hear," he said, more than ready for another drink. His head was pounding and the dull heartache that was always present was getting worse. It always got worse when he thought about her.

"She left because she thought it was what's best," Callie continued.

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do."

"How?"

Callie took a deep breath. She was going to have to come clean. If she wanted Mark to be happy, she was going to have to admit what she did.

"Because I told her to."

"What?"

"I was selfish. I told her I needed you here, that you belonged here. That's why she left."

"You…you what?"

"I know it was wrong and I know that you'll probably hate me and I'm sorry," she blurted out.

"Lexie didn't leave me?"

"She didn't want to, no."

"Then she could love me."

"I think there's a very good chance that she might." Mark was silent. "Do you hate me?"

"Do you have your phone?"

"What?"

"Do you have your phone? I left mine at home and I need to find a flight to Connecticut."

Smiling, Callie took hers out of her pocket and handed it to him. He began typing frantically.

Author's Note: I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. All I can really say is there's a lot more Mark and Lexie to come! Thank you for reading and Happy Thanksgiving!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Mark stopped in front of the entrance to the unfamiliar hospital. He stood, looking at the glass sliding doors. It was a big hospital, bigger even than Seattle Grace. And from the research Mark had done incessantly on the hospital since Lexie had left, Mark knew that it was a good hospital. It was one of the best on the East coast. Lexie couldn't have been in a better learning environment.

Mark took a step forward towards the entrance, but then stopped again. He knew that she was in there. He knew that she was somewhere inside the massive hospital's walls and it excited him more than anything had before. He wondered what she was doing at that very moment. Maybe she was taking a break and catching a nap in an on-call room or maybe she was elbow deep in a patient's chest cavity. Either way, Mark couldn't wait to see her.

Mark strode in the front doors and walked right to the elevators. He didn't really have a clue where he was going, but as he stepped into the elevator, he scanned the directory that was posted to the right of the elevator doors. He read that the operating rooms were on the eighth floor. Mark punched the number eight more forcibly than necessary. He waited impatiently as the elevator doors closed and the elevator began to make its ascent.

It felt like the elevator took an eternity before the doors finally opened to the eighth floor. With confidence, Mark walked off the elevator and went straight to the nurse's station. He knew he'd be able to find out if Lexie was in surgery from a nurse. As he approached the desk, he noticed a rather attractive red-headed woman was sitting behind the desk, concentrating on the computer.

"Hello," Mark said. The woman looked up and smiled when she saw Mark.

"How can I help you?" She asked in a much higher pitched voice than necessary. As she played with her hair, it was obvious she was flirting. Normally, Mark would have loved the attention and probably would have leaned on the counter, flashed his pearly whites, and smiled back, but he wasn't the same Mark anymore and he was on a mission.

"I'm looking for Lex…Dr. Grey," he said.

"Are you a patient?" She asked.

"No, I'm…" He didn't know how to answer his sentence. He wasn't exactly her boyfriend anymore, but he couldn't really say that he was her ex-boyfriend who was still madly in love with her and was in Connecticut to win her back. So, instead, he pulled his Seattle Grace ID badge out of his wallet. "I'm Dr. Mark Sloan. I'm here for a consult."

"Oh, well Doctor…" The woman looked down at a chart. "Dr. Grey should just be getting out of surgery in OR 4 any minute."

"Thank you."

"Cindy."

"What?"

"Cindy. My name's Cindy. And I get off at seven. There's a little bar…"

"Um, that's very flattering, Cindy, but I'm really not interested," Mark said.

"Oh, come on. No wedding ring and since I'm not one of those girls who gets attached, a little fling while you're here on a consult isn't the worst thing that could happen, is it?"

"Sorry, I'm…involved," he explained, walking away. He didn't mean to be rude, but he definitely was not in Hartford for a fling. That was the furthest thing from his mind. At least, a fling with a total stranger was the furthest thing from his mind. A fling with Lexie was just what he had in mind.

Mark made his way down the long hospital corridor, thinking about how any minute he would see her. He would hear her voice, and be able to look into her beautiful eyes, and…

Mark turned the corner and saw her from behind. His heart leapt. Sure, he couldn't see her face and she was dressed in her scrubs and was wearing one of those scrub caps that really didn't flatter anyone, but he didn't care. She was there, not ten feet away from him. He could barely control himself. He was sure that his heart was going to beat right out of his chest.

As he walked closer to her, Mark noticed for the first time that she wasn't alone. She was standing talking to another doctor. Another young, male, tall, dark and handsome doctor. The young, male, tall doctor and handsome doctor had his hand on Lexie's arm and he was smiling. Worse, she was smiling back. Mark stopped dead in his tracks, his heart sinking. He started analyzing everything. They were standing too close together, his hand lingered too long on her arm, she was blushing just like she did the first time Mark accidentally brushed his hand against hers in surgery. He knew exactly what it meant. She was falling for someone other than Mark. His heart had broken when she first left him. As he stood there, it broke into even more pieces.

Mark felt like his legs were going to give out. He couldn't stand, he could barely breathe. He felt like the oxygen was being sucked out of he room. He knew he needed to leave. He couldn't stand to see her with that man anymore. Mark was about to turn around and to leave the hospital to go back to Seattle and pretend that Lexie Grey had never walked into his life when he heard her voice.

"Mark?" She questioned.

Mark stopped. He wanted to run, but he didn't. He had to prove that he could move on just as easily as she did even if it wasn't true. When he turned, Lexie had taken a few steps closer to him. Her face was in complete shock. Her eyes looked as if she were about to cry. She looked tired and overworked, but to him she looked stunning. Seeing her brought back too many memories.

"Dr. Grey," he said with the biggest, cheapest smile he could muster on his face. "I forgot you were at Hartford General now."

Her heart fell. His words hurt her. She wondered if he was intentionally trying to torture her. She had finally stopped dreaming about him. Had finally stopped crying into her pillow at night for him and yet, there he was.

"I…how are you?" She asked. She didn't know what else to say. Seeing him again was too much.

"I'm fine, Dr. Grey."

He was being cold. She could tell it was on purpose.

"Hi," the doctor said from behind Lexie. He approached them both and extended his hand to Mark. As Mark shook his head, he had half a mind to break it.

"I'm sorry," Lexie apologized. "Mark, this is Dr. Gregory Ballas. He's a heart expert."

"Dr. Mark Sloan," Mark replied.

"Are you a surgeon Dr. Sloan?"

"Plastics," he answered.

"Get to stare at women's breasts all day, huh?" Dr. Ballas joked.

Mark was glad he was no longer shaking Dr. Ballas' hand. He definitely would have at least crushed a finger or two.

"Mar…Dr. Sloan and I worked together in Seattle," Lexie stuttered.

"What brings you to the East Coast, Dr. Sloan?"

He could have admitted it. He could have blurted Lexie's name out, but he didn't.

"A consult," he answered.

"They flew you all the way from Seattle for a consult?" Lexie questioned.

"When you want the best, you call the best," he answered. He was being cocky. It was one of the attributes he had started to leave behind when he met Lexie, but it was back and it annoyed her.

"Well, I have to go…consult," Mark said. "It was nice to see you again Dr. Grey." He should have done the polite thing and acknowledged Dr. Ballas, but he didn't. He walked back down the hall and towards the nurse's station. Cindy was still sitting. When she looked up and saw Mark, she scowled. Mark took a pen off the desk and grabbed a post-it note. After he wrote something on it, he handed it to her.

"I'm staying at the Radisson," he said. "Room 210."

He winked at her before walking away. He stopped at the elevator, slamming the buttons even harder than before. He wanted to get out of there, out of Hartford, out of the East coast as fast as he could. He waited a few seconds at most and the elevator never arrived. Angrily, he looked to his right and noticed a door that lead to a stairwell. He made his way to the door, and pushed it open, letting it slam behind him. He began taking the stairs two at a time.

"Why did you come here?" Lexie asked as she burst through the door. He was already down one set of stairs and wasn't about to stop. She raced after him. "You don't get to just walk away from. You came to me! Why?"

He stopped dead in his tracks and whirled around to face her. They were a few stairs apart, making Lexie the same height as him. She was definitely close to tears.

"I told you, I'm here for a consult."

"You and I both know that's bull."

"What do you care why I'm here? You've got your new doctor friend. Is that your MO, Lexie? You go for the successful, attractive attending? How long did it take before you jumped in bed with him?"

Lexie slapped him hard across the face. She had never hit anyone before and she was sorry the moment that she did it. It didn't make her feel any better. If anything, it made her feel worse. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Goodbye, Lexie," he said as he walked down the stairs.

She watched him go. She wanted to go after him, but she felt glued to the spot. If he really thought she was the type of person who could so easily forget about the person she loved and then jump into bed with someone else, he didn't know her at all. As she slumped to the ground, the tears falling faster, she reminded herself that she's the one who left him. She's the one who wanted him to have the life he never had in Seattle with his friends. She's the one who looked him in the eye and told him that she didn't love him. She was to blame, but it didn't stop the pain.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Lexie felt her heart pounding. It hadn't stopped all day; not since she had seen him. She knew she should just let it be. She should just let him go back to Seattle and she should be back at the hospital prepping for the big surgery she had the next day, but she wasn't at the hospital. She was outside his hotel, not moving. She was simply staring at the lobby, second guessing herself. She was exhausted, emotionally and physically, but she couldn't bring herself to move.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" A man asked as he came out of the hotel. Lexie recognized him as the man from behind the front desk. "Do you need a room? Or can I call you a cab?"

"No, thank you," Lexie said. She realized that she probably seemed strange standing outside of a hotel for nearly twenty minutes. "I…I'm here to see someone."

"Well, if you need a place to wait, the bar is just down the hall to the right," he said, giving her a strange look.

"Thank you," Lexie replied.

She smiled politely and followed the man inside. He pointed the way towards the bar. Lexie nodded to him and slowly walked down the hallway. She wondered if she should stop for a drink. Maybe it would help give her courage. But, as she stared at the nearly empty bar, she knew she didn't want a drink. She wanted to see him.

Bypassing the bar, Lexie walked down the hall further. She saw an elevator and pushed the button. When the doors opened, she stared inside, but didn't move. After a few seconds, the door closed again and Lexie listened as the elevator moved upward. She took a deep breath, and hit the button again. When the elevator returned, she bravely stepped on. She was going to do this, even if it killed her.

She rode the elevator to the second floor. When the doors opened, she briskly walked out and walked down several hallways before she found room 210. She knew he was just behind the door. She looked at her watch. It was just past two AM. He was probably sleeping. The image of him lying in bed, in nothing but his boxers filled her mind. She only hoped that he was alone.

Lexie raised her hand and knocked at the door. She waited a few minutes, but nothing happened. She heard no sounds from inside the room. Hanging her head, she turned around. He was probably out. Out with some woman he had picked up somewhere.

With tears in her eyes, Lexie began to walk back down the hallway. Going there had been a mistake. As she was about to turn the corner, back to the elevators, she heard a door open. She stopped.

"Lexie?"

She slowly turned back around. There he was, standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his broad, naked chest. He was wearing only a pair of green boxers. It was the exact image she had in her mind except for one thing. He wasn't smiling.

"I…I…" she stuttered as she made her way closer to him. She was losing her nerve. He was the only man who had ever made her lose her thoughts so completely just by looking at him.

"You weren't who I was expecting," he stated coldly.

He wasn't sure why he said what he said. There she was, standing in front of her and he was turning her away. He should have taken it back, dragged her into his room, and made love to her, but he just stood there with his arms crossed like she didn't mean a thing to him.

She could have just walked away. She should have just walked away, but she didn't. She had gone there for a reason and she was going to fulfill that reason.

"I didn't sleep with him. I didn't sleep with Dr. Ballas." She was proud of herself for staring him straight in the eye and telling him what she had to say, but she wasn't through. "I haven't slept with anyone since I've been here. I haven't wanted to…I haven't wanted to because I can't stop thinking about you. Because I should never have left you."

She waited for him to say something or to do something, but he just stood there, staring at her. She could feel the emotions bubbling over and she couldn't control herself.

"Why did you come here? If you're not going to say anything, if you're just going to stand there…why did you come here? Just when I was able to sleep alone, just when I was able to have a bad day and not want to talk to you, just when I could dream without you invading my mind, you come back. You come back and you stand there and you…you…" Tears began to fall from her eyes. "I can't do this."

She turned around and ran down the hallway. She stopped in front of the elevators, frantically pushing the buttons, waiting. She heard him running after her. She looked around, trying to find another exit. She saw a sign that said 'stairs,' but he caught her before she could make it to the door.

"Lexie."

He put his arm on her shoulder, but she brushed him off.

"Leave me alone!"

"I'm sorry…"

This time she practically shoved him away. "I said leave me alone." She pushed open the door, but Mark followed. It was like the hospital all over again. Only this time, he was pursuing her and somehow he knew it would be his last chance.

"I didn't sleep with that woman from the bar," he stated.

Lexie stopped and looked up at him. "What?"

"I didn't sleep with that woman from the bar…or Cindy…or anyone else because I can't stop thinking about you either."

"Don't play with me, Mark Sloan," she said. "Don't throw my words back at me because you think this is some funny joke! This isn't funny or charming or…"

"I'm not…I'm not playing with you. And I don't find this funny or charming, although you are awfully cute when you're angry…"

"Don't you dare call me cute when I could…"

"You could what? Slap me again? If that will make you feel better, Lexie. Go ahead. Slap me, hit me, do whatever you want to me. Just don't go."

He paused, waiting for her to actually take a swing at him, but she didn't. She looked as if all of her energy had been drained and she didn't even have the strength to lift her arm. He slowly put his hand back on her shoulder.

"This is me, Lexie. This is me standing here in front of you, pouring my heart out. I've never done this before. I'm not the type of guy who would travel across the country for a girl, but here I am. And the only reason…the only reason I can think why I barged into the chief's office this morning and told him that I was taking a few days off at a time when I can't afford to make any mistakes or my job could be as stake is because I've never felt like this before." She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. He wasn't through with what he had to say. "I've made some mistakes, and I'll never forgive myself for them. I can't tell you how sorry I am, but this is me. This is me standing in front of you telling you that I make mistakes and that you're turning me into the type of guy who travels across the country for a girl so please, please don't walk away."

She looked up at him. She had never heard anything so heartfelt from anyone in her entire life.

"You're not the only one who's made mistakes. I'm the one who left you."

He reached his hand up to her face. Cupping the side of her cheek, he wiped her tears away with his thumb. "Callie told me you left for me."

She leaned into his hand. "You've built a life in Seattle. You moved there for Derek…to heal your relationship. I couldn't take you away from him or Callie or the hospital. They're your family."

"Families don't just go away Lexie because you're not with them all the time. I don't care where I am, as long as I'm with you."

"I just wanted you to finally have the life you never had as a child…to have the family…to have the stability…to be happy."

"I'm happy when I'm with you."

He leaned her forehead against his.

"This will never work," Lexie whispered. "Long distance relationships never work."

He put a finger to her lips. "We'll figure it out."

"But how?" She sniffled. "How?"

"Because I know one thing."

"What's that?"

"I'm not spending another day without you."

He leaned in and kissed her with more passion than he ever felt in his whole life. It felt as if he were kissing her for the first time. She placed her hand on is chest, feeling his heat radiating through her body. He snaked his hand around her waist, pulling her towards him. He never wanted to let her go.

As their tongues battled, she felt the railing of the stairs digging into her back. She didn't want to stop. She never wanted to stop. He kissed a trail up her jaw and towards her ear. Pushing her hair aside, he kissed her scar and she moaned.

"Lexie," he whispered into her ear.

"I know…the room. We have to get to the room," she replied breathlessly. Her knees were growing weak. If he continued what he was doing, she wasn't going to make it back to the room.

"I love you," he said.

He stopped kissing her long enough to look into her eyes. Her eyes looked frantic, her mouth opened slightly in awe. He looked at her lips, wanting to kiss her again, but he had to make her see. She had to know that he loved her. Not because they had the best sex he had in his entire life, but because he loved her. He loved who she was and who she made him be.

"I love you," he repeated. "No one else is here. Just me and you. And I'm telling you I love you, Lexie Grey. I love…"

She cut him off by capturing his lips with her own. She buried her hands in his hair and kissed him so deeply, she was afraid she'd melt into a puddle at his feet.

"I love you too," she whispered against his lips.

He pulled away. "What did you say?"

"I said I love you too."

He smiled. "I've never had a woman say that to me before. Except Mrs. Shepard."

"Well, get used to it because you're going to start hearing it a lot more often."

He lifted her off her feet as he kissed her. She wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Room. Now," she stated.

He replied by kissing her.

Author's Note: Okay, I know this one was a little short, but I hope that it made everyone happy. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I hope you had fun reading it!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Mark slipped into consciousness with a smile on his face. He was happy. Completely and utterly happy. It was a feeling he had never felt so strongly in his entire life. It was a feeling he could definitely get used to. He reached for Lexie, wanting to feel her beside him, to remind him that having her in his bed wasn't a dream. When he felt the spot beside him and felt nothing but cold sheets, his heart sank. He feared that maybe it had all been a dream. Maybe she hadn't gone to his hotel room in the middle of the night. Worse, maybe she had never said that she loved him. Mark sat straight up, his eyes wide open. He frantically scanned the room, searching for her.

"Lexie?" He nearly shouted.

She popped her head up from the end of the bed.

"What?"

Mark could only see her from the chin up. She was sitting cross legged on the floor. He was disappointed to see that her hair was wet, which meant that she had showered. He much would have preferred showering with her.

"I thought…" He shook his head, stopping.

"Thought what?"

"Never mind. What are you doing down there?"

She got on her knees and held up a small, black pouch that held Mark's bathroom supplies. "Looking for deodorant."

He leaned back on his elbows. "Why are you looking for deodorant? And are those clothes on your body? Why aren't you naked? And why aren't you in bed? Why aren't you naked in bed?"

"You really know how to sweet talk a girl, don't you?"

She disappeared out of view again, sitting back down on the floor and rummaging through his suitcase. She was determined to find some deodorant.

"You still didn't answer my question," he said.

"What question would that be? The deodorant question, the naked question, or the in bed question? Never mind, don't answer that," she said, knowing that he would keep pestering her about the fact that she was no longer naked.

"Well…"

"I have to be at work in an hour to do a major surgery that I'm nowhere near prepared for because instead of spending last night preparing, I spent it in bed with you."

"Are you telling me it wasn't worth it?"

Her head poked up again. "No, I'm not saying that. It was definitely worth it."

"If you climb back into bed, I can show you just how worth it is all over again."

"As appealing as that sounds, and it does sound rather appealing, I told you, I have a big surgery. And why don't you have any deodorant?" She practically threw all of the contents of his luggage in the air.

Mark crawled to the end of the bed, hanging his head over. He placed his hand under her chin and pressed his lips against hers.

"Good morning," he said.

She smiled. "Good morning." Suddenly the worry and stress of the surgery that was looming over her head disappeared. Just having him so close always made all of her fears disappear. She leaned in and kissed him again, this time allowing her lips to linger on his.

"Deodorant?" She asked when she finally pulled herself away from him.

"You really do have a one track mind," Mark replied.

"I don't need to start smelling in the middle of my surgery."

"You could never smell," he said. "You're too cute to smell."

"Well, you might think so, but the scrub nurses probably wouldn't agree. Now, do you have deodorant or not?"

He shook his head. "I packed in a hurry," he insisted.

She started gathering the contents of his suitcase that she had thrown all over the floor when he leaned in and kissed her again, this time with more passion. He was trying to distract her and he was succeeding.

"I have surgery," she repeated.

"So I've heard."

"I can't be late."

"Call out sick," he suggested.

She shook her head. "I can't call out sick. I've only been here for a month."

He glanced at the clock. "You've only had…two hours of sleep."

"One," she corrected. He raised an eyebrow. "Remember that quickie you woke me up for that turned out not be a quickie after all?"

"Now that was definitely worth it," he said with a smirk on her face. Her face turned red and she giggled. "Why Dr. Grey, are you blushing?"

She shook her head. "No, Dr. Sloan. I'm just…remembering."

"Good memories?"

"Very good memories."

"Come back to bed, Lexie."

"I can't."

"Lexie…" he practically whined like a child.

She met him, face to face. "You know if I could, I would stay with you. I would give anything to stay with you, but I can't."

He nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. They were surgeons and, no matter what, surgery would always come first. "I know."

She sank back to the floor. "When do you leave?" She asked in whisper, suddenly afraid that if she went to work, he wouldn't be there when she got back.

"I have a flight tomorrow afternoon…but I think I could be persuaded to stay longer."

Her eyes lit up at as she looked at him. "I'm very good at persuasion."

"Yes, yes you are."

This time, she leaned in to kiss him. With their lips still connected, Mark got onto his knees and Lexie simultaneously stood. He backed up as she crawled onto the bed with him. Before she knew it, he laid back, pulling her on top of him. His hands were running down her back, pushing her shirt up.

"I…we…I," she stuttered as she kissed him again. "We can't."

"I assure you, we can. And we did. What was it? Two times last night?"

"Three," she corrected.

"Let's make it four."

She pushed off of him, sitting up.

"I can't."

She slid off the bed and looked back at him. He was leaning against the pillows, his naked body simply lying on the bed. He really was the perfect man.

"You're distracting me."

"How's that?"

"Your nakedness. Your nakedness is distracting me."

"Exactly my plan, my dear."

She grabbed a pair of his boxers from the suitcase and threw them at him, hitting him in the face.

"I thought you liked my nakedness," he joked. He pulled the boxers on.

"I do like your nakedness. Actually, I love your nakedness, but there's a time and a place."

"With you, it's always the time and place to be naked."

She rolled her eyes. "I need to brush my teeth. Do you at least have a toothbrush?" She knelt down beside his suitcase again.

"I packed quickly, remember? A toothbrush was not high on my priority list."

"How can a toothbrush not be…" She stopped midsentence, staring at his suitcase.

"Lexie?"

She picked up a garment from his suitcase and held it up. They were her own panties. The one she had left in his underwear drawer before she had left.

"You found them," she said.

He scooted to the edge of the bed, taking the panties from her.

"About two weeks after you left," he explained. "I thought maybe you left them behind by accident, but then I thought, or I guess I was hoping that it wasn't just an accident."

"It wasn't by accident," Lexie admitted. "It was for you. They were for you. I wanted you to…remember me. I know it sounds stupid now, but…"

He pulled her arm and she sank down on the bed beside him.

"It's not stupid. They gave me hope."

"My panties gave you hope?"

He shrugged. "Something like that."

They sat in silence for a full minute before Lexie had to brush a tear away from her cheek.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, putting his arm around her.

"Nothing."

"Lexie…" he prompted.

"What's going to happen to us?" She questioned.

"What?"

"Tomorrow you'll go back to Seattle and I'll be here and…"

"We'll figure it out."

"How?"

"Because I love you." She smiled and he kissed her on the top of the head. "Now go to work and be brilliant."

She stood up and reached into her pants pocket. She pulled out a set of keys. Taking one of the keys off the ring, she handed it to Mark.

"What's this?"

"The key to my apartment."

"Your apartment?"

"Where did you think I was living?" She smiled. "It doesn't make sense for you to pay for a hotel when I have a perfectly fine apartment just a few blocks from the hospital."

"Ok, apartment it is."

Lexie stood in front of the mirror, combing her hands through her hair. She was trying her best not to look like she had been up all night having amazing sex.

"So, what are you going to do all day to entertain yourself?"

"You mean I can't stay in bed all day, wishing you were here?"

She basically ignored him. "There are some great museums around and it's a gorgeous day outside. There's a park only about a mile from here and…"

"I'm sure I can entertain myself." He didn't want to mention that he already had a plan for the day and it didn't include museums or parks.

"I'll meet you at my apartment at seven. Or sevenish. You know how surgery can be."

"Yes I do."

She headed for the door. "Okay…so I'll see you later."

"No kiss?"

She stopped and turned, smirking. "If I kiss you, will you promise that that'll be it. Just a kiss?"

He thought for a moment. "Do I have to?"

"If you want a goodbye kiss, then yes, you have to."

"Fine."

She walked back over to the bed, leaned over and kissed him, allowing herself to relish in his taste. When she felt his hand on her hip, she pulled away smiling. She loved teasing him.

"Remember," she said. "You promised."

"And I never break my promises."

He reluctantly let her go. She made it halfway to the door before turning around again.

"One more thing."

This time, she strode over to him with a strut in her step. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. She grabbed the complimentary pen off the nightstand and scribbled something. Putting the pen back, she dropped the paper on Mark's chest.

"What's this?" He asked.

"The address to my apartment," she replied. "See you later."

She walked out of the room, the door closing behind her. Mark picked up the paper and looked at it. He saw the scribbled address and then turned the paper over. His own handwriting was staring back at him. It was the name of his hotel and room number. It was the same note he had given to Cindy. He smiled to himself. Lexie was full of more surprises than even he realized and it only made him love her more.

Author's Note: Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Thank you so much for the incredible reviews!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Mark pulled his red, sporty rental car over to the side of the road. He looked out the window at the shabby building in front of him and then turned his attention back to the built-in GPS. The little black and white checkered flag on the GPS screen told him that he had arrived at his destination. Mark fished for the piece of paper Lexie had given to him with her address on it out of his pocket. He double checked the address against the one that he had plugged into the GPS. It was definitely the right address. Looking out the window once more, Mark shook his head in awe.

He got out of the car and walked across the street to the front door of the building. He took Lexie's key out of his pocket and was about to put it into the lock on the front door when he noticed that the door wasn't closed at all. It had fallen off one of its hinges and was hanging limply from just one hinge. Mark pushed on it and the door creaked open, barely staying on its one hinge. He stepped inside, looking down the dingy hallway. Two out of the four hallway lights were out. The bright orange flowered wallpaper in the hallway was peeling, not to mention ugly. Mark looked further down the hallway and saw six doors, three on each side. The numbers were painted on each door sloppily. The place gave Mark the creeps.

Although he didn't want to continue, Mark made his way down the hallway and found the stairwell at the end. As he entered the stairwell, an unpleasant scent filled his nostrils. He plugged his nose and looked around. The stairs looked even worse than the hallway. The carpet was so worn, you could barely tell there was a carpet at all. The dingy, white walls were covered in brown water stains. Being careful not to touch anything, especially the railings, Mark walked up the steps and found himself in yet another, dull corridor. He found Lexie's apartment number, number 22 about halfway down the hall.

Mark slid Lexie's key into the keyhole and pushed the door open. He was surprised to see the room was bright and cheerful unlike the rest of the apartment building. Mark stepped onto the old, orange, shag carpet and reached for the light switch. He flicked it, but nothing happened.

"Oh Lexie," he said out loud to himself.

As he walked further into her living room, he realized that Lexie had done her best to make the small apartment feel like a home, but it was far from it. She had picked out a bright, blue couch, which was almost too big for the tiny living room, and bright, colorful curtains. Even the walls were covered with prints of famous paintings that she had probably bought at some craft store. But despite her efforts, the apartment was still a dirty, ugly place. The walls were stained and not even all painted the same color. Two of the walls in the living room were off-white and two were white.

Shaking his head, Mark made his way to the kitchen. There was only one cabinet with an actual door on it and the stove was rusted. Mark absently turned on the tap, thankful that at least the water looked clean. Shutting the water off, he headed into Lexie's bedroom. She had attempted the same bright colors in the bedroom as she had the living room, but it still didn't cover the fact that the apartment was awful. Her bed wasn't even a bed. She just had two mattresses stacked on the floor. Her closet had no door and her one bureau was missing a drawer.

Curious, Mark sauntered over to the bureau and attempted to open one of the drawers. It was stuck. He used both hands and pulled. Finally the drawer opened. He was smiling when he saw it was her underwear drawer. He really enjoyed her underwear. Mark picked up a pair of sheer, light pink panties. The price tag was still on them. Mark smiled to himself, imagining what Lexie would look like wearing the underwear. Blushing slightly, he put the panties back in the drawer and was about to close it when he noticed something buried underneath her feminine underwear. Mark reached in and pulled out a pair of his green, plaid boxers.

"Someone's been sneaky," he said out loud. It made him feel good that she not only had left him her panties behind as a memento of her, but that she had taken a pair of underwear from him before she left. He shoved the boxers back into the drawer. Even though he loved those boxers, they were more useful right where they were. Not that Mark predicted Lexie would be spending much more time in that particular apartment. Mark didn't want to think about Lexie spending time in the apartment, never mind living there. No one, especially not the woman he loved, should be living in a place like that.

Leaving everything as he left it, Mark backed out of the apartment, closing the door. He quickly made his way out of there, not wanting to see the apartment again. If it were up to him, Lexie would never have to see it again either.

*****

Lexie sat down with her salad and apple at the lunch table, unable to stop smiling. She hadn't stopped smiling all day.

"Surgery went well, I take it?" The woman beside Lexie said.

Lexie blinked a few times before looking over at Samantha, one of the other residents. Samantha was the only other person Lexie felt at all connected to. She had taken Lexie under her wing when she had first arrived. Instead of shunning her like most of the other residents, or forcing her to do the grunt work that no one else wanted to do, Samantha treated Lexie like a friend.

"Huh, what?"

"Are you drunk?" Samantha asked.

"No," Lexie said, stabbing her salad with a fork. "I am not drunk."

"Only drunk people are that happy."

"Why can't I be happy?" She asked with her mouth full of salad.

"You can be happy. Just not that happy. So either you're drunk, you've got a once in a lifetime surgery you're not telling me about, or you got laid last night."

Lexie blushed. "Well, I'm not drunk and there's no surgery."

"You got laid?" Samantha practically shrieked.

A few heads turned to stare at them.

"Shhh," Lexie shushed.

"Spill! Was it Dr. Ballas?"

"What?"

"Oh, come on, everyone knows he's been after you since the moment you stepped foot in this hospital."

"He has not."

"Yes, he has. But if it wasn't Dr. Ballas, who was it? That guy from cardio? Someone from a bar, perhaps?"

"It wasn't just someone from a bar. And it wasn't anyone in this hospital."

"Are you going to make me keep guessing?"

Lexie sighed secretly happy that was she was finally able to talk about her midnight rendezvous. She had been dying to talk about it all morning. "It was Mark."

"Mark?"

"You know…Mark."

"Mark," Samantha said the word quietly to herself, racking her brain for any Mark's she might no. "Not ringing a bell."

"Mark…the love of my life who I left in Seattle?"

"Ohhh…McSteamy. Why didn't you just say so? When do I get to meet him?"

"What?"

"If he's as steamy as you said he was, I want to see him."

"I'm not parading my boyfriend around here for you to ogle."

"Why? Are you worried he'll leave you and fall madly in love with me if he sees these thighs," Samantha said, smacking her thigh.

Lexie laughed. "He's just here for a few days. He…missed me."

"A man who surprises a girl by flying across the country more than misses her. The sex must be great."

Again, a few heads turned to look at them.

"Could we not talk so loudly about my sex life?"

Samantha shrugged. "Suit yourself, but let me ask you one thing."

"What's that?"

"Does he live up to his name? Is McSteamy…you know, McSteamy in bed?"

"Better," Lexie said, smirking, fixing her attention on her salad, unable to stop smiling.

*****

Mark walked down the corridor, knowing exactly where he was headed. He only hoped it wasn't too late. It had taken him longer than he thought it would to run the errands he needed to run, but he still had one last, very important errand to run.

He walked past the nurse's station and smiled when he saw Cindy sitting behind the desk. He made his way over to the desk and flashed a smile at her.

"Oh no," she said. "You don't get to smile at me."

"Thank you," he replied.

"For what?"

"For giving Lex…Dr. Grey my hotel address."

"How do you know she didn't just take it off my desk?"

"Because I can see it in your eyes."

"Does your doctor friend know that you're looking in my eyes?"

"I don't think she'd mind. Especially not after you helped put us back together."

Cindy sighed. "Yeah, well she came over to me with that puppy dog look on her face. Who can resist?"

"Not me."

"Obviously. From the looks of things, I'd say that I lost out on a good time."

"Maybe if you ran into me a year or two ago, I'd say yes. But since Lexie, I don't have eyes…or other body parts…for anybody else."

"She's a lucky girl."

"I'm the lucky one," he said, winking.

"Yeah, yeah, save your flirting for the doc."

He smiled and began to walk off. "Thanks again, Cindy."

She laughed before looking down at the magazine she was flipping through. She guessed he would have been worth it, but she didn't regret giving Lexie the name of his hotel.

Mark finally reached his destination. He glanced in the window, thankful that he wasn't too late. He knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice said.

Mark opened the door, walked in, and closed it behind him. Dr. Ballas looked up from behind his desk. He took off his glasses and put them on his desk.

"Dr. Sloan, is it?" Dr. Ballas asked, extending his hand out to shake Mark's hand. Mark didn't take it.

"We can forget the niceties," Mark stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm here for one reason."

"I thought you were here for a consult," Dr. Ballas said, putting his glasses back on. He looked back at his computer, ignoring Mark. He didn't need any interruptions in his day.

"Let's just say the consult is over, but I'm not here to talk about medicine."

"Then why are you barging into my office, Dr. Sloan?"

"Stay away from Lexie."

Dr. Ballas looked up. Mark was bent over, staring Dr. Ballas in the face.

"Excuse me?"

"Stay away from Lexie," he stated again through gritted teeth.

"Dr. Grey is her own person. She can make decisions about whom she decides to spend time with by herself."

Mark grabbed his collar, practically dragging him over the desk.

"Stay aware from her," he warned. "She is mine. And I swear to God, if you touch her…if you so much as put one finger on her or even stand too close to her during surgery, I'll break your hand so bad you'll never be able to perform surgery again."

"I can have security here in less than thirty seconds," Dr. Ballas said with his hand on the telephone receiver.

"No need," Mark replied, letting him go. Dr. Ballas sank back into his seat, fixing his collar. "I think we're done here."

Mark headed for the door, but Dr. Ballas stood up.

"You think you're something special, Dr. Sloan, because you're a plastic surgeon?"

"No, I think I'm something special because I have a woman who loves me and who I love." He was halfway through the door when he turned back around. "And I am one, damn good surgeon." He slammed the door behind him, smiling. Telling Dr. Ballas off was only the cherry on the top of his very good day.

Whistling as he walked, he took out his cell phone out of his pocket and paged Lexie 911. Sure, it wasn't exactly a medical emergency, but they hadn't seen each other in over twelve hours, which was an emergency enough for him. Less than a minute later, he saw her run off the elevator, that look of determination on her face that he loved. She almost raced past him until he hooked her around the waist and pulled her towards him.

"Hey…I…Mark?"

He wrapped his arms around her waist and planted a big, wet kiss on her lips.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

She tried to wrestle away from him. All the way, he continued to smile, but he wouldn't let her go.

"I can't…I was paged 911…someone could be dying and you want to stand here kissing me. And why are you here? I thought we decided to meet at my apartment after my shift."

"I thought there was an emergency," he said as she stopped struggling.

This time when she pushed against him, he let her go. "You tell me," she said, finally realizing that it was he who paged her.

"Not seeing each other for twelve hours is an emergency," Mark stated, leaning in to kiss her again. She pulled away.

"I'm at work," she said.

"So? It never stopped us before."

"We're not at Seattle Grace."

"What do you think people in Connecticut don't have sex in on call rooms?"

"Oh no, they do."

He raised an eyebrow. "And how would you know?"

"I don't know from experience. I've just…heard." Her face was flushed and she as beginning to stutter. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Errands."

"Errands? In the hospital?"

"Among others, yes. Now, get dressed, we're leaving."

Lexie looked at her watch. "I still have…"

"Your shift ended a half hour ago. Now get dressed. You have ten minutes."

"Mark, I can't just leave."

"Why not? Is there anyone dying?"

"What? No."

"Is there anyone bleeding or broken or lying on a table with their chest cavity open?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Then now you have nine minutes and…" he looked at his watch. "Fifteen seconds. Go." Lexie was about to open her mouth to protest, when Mark leaned in to kiss her. "Go."

"You really know how to be charming, don't you?" Lexie asked as she made her way down the hallway back towards the elevators.

"Eight minutes and forty seconds," he said, tapping his watch.

"Meet you outside," she said as she disappeared into the elevator.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Where are you going?" She asked, tugging on his sleeve.

"Like the last four times," he said, playfully slapping her hand away. "I'm not going to tell you."

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

"That's not a good answer."

"You realize you're being ridiculous, don't you?"

"I'm being ridiculous? This could be our last night together and you want to spend it driving around?"

"First of all, this isn't our last night together..."

"This is our last night together in what could be a long time…"

"You make it sound so dramatic."

"It is dramatic!"

"Lexie…"

"Don't talk to me like a child."

"Then stop acting like a child."

"You did not just say that!"

"Are we fighting?" Mark asked. "Are we having our first fight because if we're going to fight over something, I'd rather it be about something more important."

"Now you're mocking me."

"I'm not mocking you."

"You're infuriating. Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

When he didn't say anything in response, she folded her arms and slumped back in her chair.

"You're pouting," he pointed out.

"I'm not pouting," she responded. "I'm withholding sex."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, I'm withholding sex because you won't tell me where we're going."

"No you're not."

"Oh yes I am. Tonight, when we get back to my apartment from wherever it is that we're going, you won't be getting any."

"Yes I will. And we need to talk about your apartment. That hole in the wall does not constitute a living space."

"You leave my apartment out of this!"

"You're the one who brought it up."

"I did not!" She took a deep breath. "You know what, forget it. It doesn't matter anyway because I'm withholding sex."

He turned the wheel to the right and pulled into an empty parking lot. Throwing the car in park, he unbuckled her seatbelt and lifted her onto his lap as if she were as light as a feather. He devoured her mouth simultaneously pulling her hair out of its ponytail. She moaned into his mouth and reached for the zipper on his Jeans.

"I win," he whispered.

She pushed herself off of him and tumbled back to her seat, angry at herself for falling for his tactics. At the same time, though, she couldn't help but smile. She would never be able to resist him and she was perfectly fine with that.

"That wasn't fair," she said, pretending to be angry.

"All's fair in love and sex," he said, winking.

"You tricked me."

"No, Little Grey, I seduced you."

He put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Don't call me that."

"Why not?"

"Because you're only allowed to call me that when I'm not angry. And right now I'm angry."

"No you're not."

"How dare you tell me how I feel!"

He turned a corner and drove slowly down the street.

"Let's not fight."

"I will fight if I want to fight."

"Why are you so angry?'

"Why? Because you're being ridiculous."

"So, now I'm the one who's ridiculous?" He sighed. "I really don't want to fight."

"I…" she was trying to think of something in return to keep the argument going, but then he put his hand on her knee. "I don't want to fight, either," she admitted.

"Well, I'm glad we can agree on that."

"I'm sorry." She felt the tears stinging her eyes. She really didn't want to cry. "I know I'm being difficult. I just keep thinking about how you're going back to Seattle tomorrow and…"

He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. "Stop worrying," he said.

"How can you say that? How can you be so sure that everything is going to work out when…" Mark slowed the car down and pulled into a driveway beside a white a house. He turned the car off and looked over at her.

"Trust me," he whispered, kissing her hand a second time.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"You'll see."

"Do we know who lives here?"

"We might."

"Might?"

He got out of the car and walked around to her side. He opened the door and held his hand out for her. She took it and got out of the car.

"Might," he repeated.

They walked up the front walk. As they got closer to the house, the front light turned on, shrouding them in light.

"It's cute," Lexie said, looking at the well landscaped front yard.

"I thought you'd like it."

"Oh? And what does that mean?"

He took a key out of his pocket and opened the front door. He grabbed Lexie's hand and they walked inside. The house was completely dark. Mark felt around on the wall for a light switch while Lexie walked in further.

"Are you going to tell me where we are?"

Mark flicked the light on. Lexie turned slowly in a circle, looking around the empty room. The walls were a bright, vibrant red that was striking, but fitting. On the far wall was a beautiful fireplace with a mantle overhead and built-in bookshelves all around. The floor was covered with real, hardwood. It was a perfect room.

"What do you think?"

"What do I think of what? Where are we?" She turned to face him. "Mark?"

"It's a house."

"I can see it's a house. But why are we standing in an empty house?"

"Lexie, your apartment is tiny. It's dirty and dangerous and…"

"It's not dangerous."

"The front door doesn't even close, Lexie. How am I supposed to sleep at night knowing that the front door doesn't even close?"

"Mark."

"I bought this house for you, for…"

She was taken aback. "Wh…what? You bought a house for me?"

"Well, actually I…"

"I…I don't even know what to say." She was stunned. "Mark, you can't just buy a house for me. People don't just buy houses for each other. People buy jewelry for each other, people buy flowers and chocolate, but not houses." She looked him in the eye. "Not houses."

"I do."

"No, no you don't. You have to tell whoever is selling this house that you can't buy a house. You can't buy a house for me in Hartford. I have an apartment. My apartment is fine. I don't need a house…and you…you can't just buy me a house. People don't just buy houses for each other."

"You said that already," he said, smirking. He loved when she rambled.

"And I'm going to say it again. People don't just buy houses!"

"Calm down, Lexie, it's just a house."

"No, I will not calm down! And it's not _just_ a house. It's a house! A house with four walls and a roof and a backyard and a fireplace and two bedrooms and…"

"Three."

"What?"

"Three bedrooms."

"What do I need three bedrooms for?"

"Is this us fighting again?"

"This is not a fight! This is common sense! You can't just buy a house for me!"

"It's not just for you," Mark said, taking her hand.

"What?"

"It's for us." Lexie pulled her hand away and sat down cross legged on the floor. She put her head between her legs, her mind racing. She felt like she was going to faint. "Lex?"

"For us?" She whispered. She looked up at him. "You bought a house for us?"

"Yes."

She didn't know what to say. She opened and closed her mouth several times before speaking. "Why?"

"Why? Because we need a place, Lexie. We need a place for us."

"Us? What does us even mean? Does us mean weekend visits whenever we can squeeze them in and every couple of holidays?"

Mark shook his head and sat down on the floor across from her.

"Us means us together, here in this house, starting a life together."

"Starting a life? Mark, do I need to remind you that you live in Seattle?"

"Not for long."

"What?"

"Those errands I had to run today included a trip to the offices of Doctors Lee and Turner."

"Who and who?"

"Two very successful plastic surgeons who are looking to expand their practice. And I'm just the kind of expansion they're looking for."

"Maybe I'm just tired…or in complete shock, but what does that mean?"

"I got a job, Lexie. A job here in Hartford. It's only ten miles from the hospital."

She didn't know what to say. Her face was unreadable. She was torn between smiling and yelling.

"But…here? In Hartford? Hartford, Connecticut?" He nodded. "But, you…you can't. You have a job and a life in Seattle."

"I think we've already been over the life part. I don't care where I am as long as I'm with you."

"But your job."

"I'll talk to the chief. Give him my two weeks. I can practice medicine anywhere, Lex. It doesn't matter where."

"But you don't work in a private practice. You don't just give nose and boob jobs. You save lives. You reattach baby's arms."

"And one day I'll reattach arms and open my burn clinic and do all of those things, but right now, I don't care. Right now I just want to be with you."

"I can't ask you to give up what you love."

"You're not asking. And I'm not giving up what I love. You're who I love, Lexie."

"I don't…I don't know what to say."

"That's the second time you've said that." He cupped his hand around her cheek. "I want to do this for you, Lexie, for us. I want to build a life here with you."

"I…nobody's ever said that to me before."

"Well, I've never said that to anybody before, either so I guess we're even."

Lexie slowly stood up. Mark followed her lead. She began to walk around the rest of the house, looking at the kitchen and second living room. Each room was just as perfect and beautiful as the living room.

"This place is beautiful."

"And you haven't seen the master bedroom yet."

Lexie turned to face him.

"You don't have to do this."

"Yes I do," he whispered, kissing her. "Because I love you."

"So…this is our house?"

"This is our house," he stated.

"That sounds so…strange."

"A good kind of strange, I hope."

"Yes," Lexie responded, "A very good kind of strange."

"I love you," he said.

"I love you, too." She looped her arms around his neck and devoured his lips. "Now, how about you show me the master bedroom?"

He smiled. "It would be my pleasure."

Author's Note: I know it's been a few days, but this was a really fun chapter to write. Writing dialogue is my favorite thing to write so I loved working on this chapter. I know there wasn't much detail, but I hope you like it!


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Mark ran his hands under the steaming hot water. He was used to the high temperature. It barely even fazed him anymore. He grabbed the bar of disinfectant soap and began to scrub his fingertips. Scrubbing in had become second nature to him. He didn't even have to think about it anymore. His hands just moved on their own, knowing exactly what to do. Sure, it did a number on his hands, making them raw and dry, but he didn't mind. He had a surgeon's hands and he loved them.

As Mark scrubbed his hands clean, Derek walked in and stood at the sink beside him. He turned the tap on and began to rinse his hands.

"Last surgery," Derek stated.

"Well, not last surgery ever," Mark corrected. "It's just my last surgery here."

"Still, it's a pretty big deal."

"Anytime you cut into a person, it's a pretty big deal."

Derek shrugged. "You all packed?"

"Haven't started."

"You're moving across the country in forty-eight hours and you haven't even started packing?"

Mark looked down at his watch. "Forty-six hours," he corrected.

Mark smiled at the thought. In forty-six hours, he would be on a plane on his way to see Lexie. And not just see her, but be with her…forever. The thought scared and excited him all at the same time. He had never made such a dramatic, life-altering change for a woman. He had never even considered committing to one woman before, but he knew with Lexie things were different and committing to her was not only something he wanted, but something he needed.

The last two weeks without her had gone by quickly, except for the nights. The nights were when time seemed to drag like there was no end in sight. He missed being with her. He missed kissing her goodnight, watching her sleep, and waking up with her body pressed up against his in the morning. Night was definitely the worst. During the day, though, he busied himself with surgeries and tying up loose ends. He had to break the lease on the apartment he had just started renting, not to mention he was working long distance with the mortgage company in Boston for the house he had found for him and Lexie.

"I've had a lot to do," Mark said.

"You better not forget about Joe's."

"How could I forget? You and Meredith have only reminded me a hundred times."

"Well here's one-hundred and one."

"I'm not going to forget my own going away party."

Thoroughly scrubbed, Mark rinsed the soap off his arms and hands and turned the faucet off with his elbow. He headed for the OR door with his hands bent at the elbow and pointing straight up.

"Tell me Lexie's the one," Derek said.

Mark stopped, his back up against the swinging door.

"Excuse me?"

"Tell me you're not just making this move because it's what she wants. Tell me you're making the move because it's what you want, because Lexie's the one."

Mark looked from his right hand to his left. "I've always loved my hands." Derek looked at him quizzically, wondering what his hands had to do with anything. "Whether I'm using them to cut someone open or to give a woman intense…and I do mean intense…pleasure, I've always loved my hands. They're my livelihood. Without them, I'm nothing.

"I'm not following."

"I would cut off both of my hands, Derek, if it meant I could be with Lexie."

Derek nodded. "Wow."

"Yeah, strange, isn't it? Whoever would have thought Mark Sloan would cut off his hands for a woman?"

Derek smiled, rinsing off his hands. "Well, before you lose those hands, let's save Mr. Compton's life."

Mark nodded. "Let's do it."

*****

Lexie stared at the beeping monitor, her head hanging low. Everyone in the room was silent, each of them staring at the blank line that scrolled across the screen.

"Time of death," Lexie said, pulling off her gloves and mask, "12:22 PM." She threw the bloody gloves she was wearing on the ground and stomped out of the room. She felt like crying, but she wouldn't cry. Good doctors didn't cry. Instead, she leaned against the wall beside the room, closing her eyes. She could hear the nurses beginning to cover up the body, disconnecting the machines. She knew she should tell the family. She was the surgeon, she should tell them, but she was so tired, she just didn't have it in her.

"Good work, Dr. Grey," the head surgeon on the case said as he walked past Lexie.

"Good work? The patient died."

"There was nothing you could do," he said assuredly. He walked away, leaving Lexie leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. She slid down the wall, resting on her haunches. She buried her head in her hands.

Lexie knew it was the standard line. He was probably right. There was probably nothing she could have done. His tumor had progressed even farther than anyone realized, but it didn't make her feel any better. She was the third patient she lost that day. She felt like a failure. A complete and utter failure.

Samantha walked up next to Lexie and sat down beside her.

"I know you don't want to hear it," Samantha began, "but there's nothing…"

"I could have done? I know."

"It's just one bad day, Lexie."

"I know that, too."

"Want to come out with us later? Some of the other residents and I are heading over to the bar down the road for some drinks."

Lexie thought about it. She would have loved a drink, but there's something she wanted more.

"No," Lexie said. "I want to do something else."

"What's that?"

"I want to hit something."

"Uh…"

"I want to play baseball."

"Excuse me?"

"I want to play baseball. I want to hold a stick in my hand and hit a ball out of the park. I don't want to just sit around and drown myself in a drink that I'm going to regret tomorrow. I want to play baseball."

Samantha was perplexed. "I…I didn't know you liked baseball."

"I don't, but what do you say?"

"I'm not much of a sports person."

"Me either, but trust me, it will make you feel better."

Samantha's pager went off. She looked at it and then stood up. "I'm…not interested."

"Just give it a chance. You'll like it."

"I'm more of a drinker than player. But, hey, you should still join us for drinks."

Lexie shook her head. "No thanks."

"Suit yourself. Gotta go."

Samantha disappeared down the hall. Lexie stayed sitting on the ground. She wanted to call Mark, but she knew he was probably in surgery. She sighed and pulled herself to her feet. She headed towards the doctor's lounge. When she entered, she saw another one of the residents sitting at the bench in front of her locker.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey." Lexie opened her locker and pulled out a chocolate bar. If she wasn't going to drink, she at least needed chocolate.

"Rough day?"

"The worst," Lexie answered.

"We're all going out for drinks after if you're interested."

"So I heard."

"Will I see you there?"

Lexie sat down next to him. "Do you like baseball?"

"Of course. Who in New England doesn't love baseball? Red Sox all the way."

"No, I mean, do you like to play?"

"I played in little league when I was a kid."

"How would you like to play baseball? With me? After work? Well, not really play. Just hit some balls around. I really need to hit something."

"Are you OK?"

"I will be if I get to hit something. Why?"

"Why don't you just come out for drinks with us?"

Lexie stood up. They just didn't understand. No one understood. No one understood except for him. She realized at that moment that he was exactly where she wanted to be.

"Forget it," Lexie said, standing up. She pushed her way out of the room, bypassed the elevators, and ran up the stairs. She took them two at a time all the way up to the eighth floor. She ran down the corridor and burst into Dr. Ballas's office without knocking.

"Dr. Grey?"

"I quit."

"Excuse me?"

"I quit. This isn't where I belong. I belong at home. I belong at home in Seattle with Mark and my friends…no, my family. They're my family. And that's where I belong." She could feel a rush of emotion flowing through her. Everything she ever wanted to say out loud, but couldn't was spewing out. "And this hospital, what kind of teaching hospital is this? You don't teach! You barely look at me let alone talk to me or heaven forbid show me how to do something. What kind of doctor does that?"  
"The kind of doctor who doesn't want to get his ass kicked."

Lexie was taken aback. "What?"

"Guess your boyfriend forgot to mention how he threatened me."

"He…what?" She stuttered. "Mark threatened you?"

"Yes and let me just say…"

"No," Lexie said, cutting him off. The adrenaline was still rushing through her. "I won't make any excuses for Mark. He had no right to come in here and threaten you."

"Thank you, but…"

"I'm not through! What kind of man are you?"

"Excuse me?"

"What kind of man are you that just lets one threat tell you off? Mark shouldn't have threatened you and trust me, I will deal with him later, but you…you need to grow some balls!"

Lexie stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind her. She felt good. She had never done anything like that before, especially not to a superior, but it felt damn good. She walked down the hall with confidence, knowing exactly what she wanted. She was going home.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in updating. I've been battling a terrible cold and just haven't had the energy to write. But, finally here's the next chapter and I hope you liked it! Only two more chapter (I think) to go!


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Lexie stormed through the front doors of the hospital. She ignored everything around her and practically ran towards the elevators, not able to wait anymore. It had taken her two layovers and almost ten hours to get there and all she wanted to do was to see him and hold him in her arms. She punched the elevator button three times and stood outside, with her arms crossed over her chest, waiting. She began tapping her toe impatiently on the ground. She couldn't wait for the elevator. She was already aggravated. As soon as her flight had landed, she had raced to his apartment. She expected to see him there packing, but he wasn't there. As matter of fact, it didn't look like anything was packed. Lexie wasn't sure what that meant, but she didn't want to dwell on it. Instead she had to try to figure out where he might be. Even though she knew he had already finished his last surgery, the only logical place he could be was the hospital. She knew he had to be there somewhere and she was determined to find him.

As she was about to walk away and head for the stairs, the elevator doors opened. Lexie burst through and ran right into someone.

"Sorry," she mumbled, trying to sidestep around the person.

"Lexie?"

Lexie looked up at who she had run into. "Meredith?"

"What are you doing here? Why aren't you in Hartford?" Meredith asked.

The elevator doors dinged and tried to close, but Lexie was in the way. Sighing, she took a step out of the elevator to talk to Meredith. On any other occasion she would have loved to talk to her sister, but she wanted Mark. As Lexie looked at Meredith's inquisitive face, however she realized that Mark was just going to have to wait a little bit longer.

"Long story short," Lexie said. "I quit." Lexie was staring at the floor, hoping to cut the conversation short.

"You quit your job? Why?"

"It just didn't…fit."

"You're in love with him aren't you?" Meredith asked.

Lexie looked up to Meredith's smiling face.

"What?" She asked, trying to act like she had no idea what Meredith was talking about.

"You're in love with Mark," Meredith said simply as if it were a statement she made every day.

"How did you…"

"Because I can tell how much you'd rather be talking to him right now than me."

Lexie's cheeks turned red. "No, I…"

"It's ok. He's in OR 3."

"Oh," Lexie said somewhat confused. "But he told me his last surgery was this morning. What is he doing back in the OR?"

"Emergency," Meredith stated. "A burn victim came in who needed skin grafts and Mark's the best."

Lexie sighed. "Yes, he is." She couldn't help but be disappointed. Sometimes it seemed unfair to be dating someone who was so talented. It meant they were always in demand.

"Don't worry," Meredith said, sensing her disappointment. "I have a plan." She took out her cell phone and hit the elevator button again.

*****

Lexie watched from above as Mark's hands worked quickly, but steadily as he stitched up his patient. She put her hand on the glass of the observation room. He didn't know she was up there. That was part of the plan. She knew she would be in his arms in a matter of minutes, but she still was being impatient.

Sighing, she took a seat and really watched him. His large, gloved hands worked on the tiny stitches like it was the most important thing they had ever done. She loved watching him work. The fact that he was a brilliant surgeon was only one of the many things she loved about him. Busy concentrating on his work, Lexie barely noticed when Derek entered the room. When she finally did see him, she smiled. She knew that was her cue. She took one last look at Mark, unable to see anything but his eyes, before leaving the observation room.

"There's a patient in room 314 that needs your attention," Derek said to Mark as one of the scrub nurses helped him with his gloves and surgical mask.

"I'm just closing up," Mark stated.

"This patient can't wait," Derek insisted.

"Call Bailey," he said.

Derek approached Mark. "I'll finish up."

"I'm not even technically on call. I should be home packing. Find somebody else."

"This patient really needs you."

"Derek…"

"And they really can't wait."

Mark sighed, not loving the fact that he was handing his patient over. Sure, all that was left was to finish closing the wound and Derek was an excellent surgeon, but Mark took pride in his small, intricate stitches that barely left a scar. He was even more aggravated that he was seeing yet another patient even though his shift was over. But that's what being a surgeon meant; never saying no if it meant a patient's life was at risk.

"This better be a really good emergency," Mark said as he handed his tools over to Derek.

"Trust me, it's good."

"Don't kill my patient," Mark stated as he walked out of the OR. He quickly peeled off his gloves, mask, and gown before washing his hands. Once he was through, he headed down the hallway to room 314. The door was closed, which Mark found strange. He knocked on the door, but didn't hear a response. Confused, Mark opened the door and stepped inside.

Lexie practically pounced on him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard on the lips. Too stunned to realize what was happening, Mark momentarily just allowed himself to be kissed. When he finally came to his senses, he quickly snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him, kissing her back. She was so forceful, she pushed his back against the door, kissing him breathless.

She finally pulled away, breathing heavily. He never let go of her.

"You know, my girlfriend probably wouldn't be too thrilled that I'm making out with a sexy brunette," he said huskily, still reeling from the kiss.

"Oh, I don't think she'd mind."

"You don't?"

"Not one bit. This girlfriend of yours must be a lucky woman," Lexie replied, placing her forehead against his.

"I'm the lucky one," he said as he leaned in to kiss her again. Her fingers trailed down his chest, reaching the bottom of his scrub top. She pushed it up and over his head. Next she began untying his scrub pants, but he stopped her, finally realizing that he was kissing her in a hospital room in Seattle.

"Wait…" he said, finally breaking their kiss.

"I don't ever remember you saying no to sex," she said, placing the palms of her hands against his pecks.

"I'm not saying no," he replied. She nipped at his ear. "Oh God." He firmly put his hands on her shoulders and lightly pushed her away. It would have been easier, much easier, for him to just let her have her way with him. He wanted her as much as she wanted him, but he needed some answers first.

"You really are saying no," Lexie stated. "I'm…impressed."

"Impressed?"

"Well, impressed and disappointed. Who knew that Mark Sloan could say no to sex," she said, smirking.

"We'll get to sex."

"When?"

"Soon."

"Not soon enough," she whined.

"First we talk. Then sex."

"Wow, you really are the girl in this relationship."

"I'm not the girl. Now could we please focus?"

"And what is it that we're focusing on, Dr. Sloan?" She asked, running her hand through his hair. She was seducing him and it was definitely working.

"You."

"Ooh, I like when we focus on me."

"You're here."

"Yes, I am. Now can we get back to sex?"

"Not yet. You're here in Seattle," Mark clarified. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't wait to see you."

"Not that I'm not glad you're here, but you do realize that I would have been on a plane to Hartford in a day."

"Not anymore."

"What?"

"You're not getting on a plane to Hartford."

"I'm not?"

"No."

"Ok, I'm a little lost here."

"You can't go to Hartford."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not going to be in Hartford."

"I'm really not following."

"I went to Hartford because I thought it was the only place I could do what I've always wanted. I could be a surgeon. I thought I could go to work every day and cut people open and live my dream, but I was wrong."

"Being a surgeon isn't your dream?"

"Not if it means giving up all of the other things in my life that I love."

"Lexie, we talked about this. I told you it didn't matter to me where we were living…"

"It may not matter to you, but it matters to me. Seattle isn't just your home, Mark. It's mine too. Hartford will never be my home."

"But…"

"They wouldn't play baseball."

"What?"

"The residents wouldn't play baseball."

"You wanted to play baseball?" He asked in disbelief. "You don't even like baseball."

"Yeah but someone once showed me that sometimes you just have to take yourself out of a bad situation and hit something."

He laughed. "You left Hartford because they wouldn't play baseball?"

"I left Hartford because they wouldn't play baseball."

"So…just so we're clear. You quit your job because they wouldn't play baseball and now you're moving back here to Seattle to be with me…and all of our friends…even though you don't have a job?"

"Correct," she answered, smiling.

"If she didn't have a job, the Lexie I used to know would be cleaning something right about now."

"I've learned recently that practicing medicine isn't the most important thing in the world."

"Oh?"

"Someday I'll be a surgeon. Maybe it won't be as soon as I hoped, but I will be a surgeon. And until then, I'm happy just being here with you."

"So, the little house in Hartford…"

"I already called the realtor and the mortgage company and it's already back on the market."

"You've really thought about this, haven't you?"

She shook her head. "No, I haven't thought about it at all. But I don't need to. Because I know what I want. And this…this being here with you…this is what I want."

"I love you," he said.

"I love you, too," she replied, kissing him. "Now, think you can take the rest of the day off?"

"I think I already have the rest of the afternoon off," he said. "But I can think of something much more exciting than packing." He began kissing her neck, running his hands through her hair.

"Not here," she said.

"A minute ago you were all but ripping my clothes off."

"Oh, don't worry, we'll get back to that. But let's go home."

"There's only one problem," he said, putting his hands on her waist.

"What's that?"

"We don't exactly have a home."

"What do you mean?"

"I gave my notice to the landlord. We officially are homeless starting tomorrow at twelve noon. Remember, up until about ten minutes ago, I was moving to Hartford tomorrow." Lexie opened her mouth to speak, but instead she just laughed. "What's so funny?"

"I've made a mess of things," she said.

He hugged her and she leaned her head against his chest. He kissed the top of her head.

"It's a good mess," he assured her. "A very good mess."

"I guess there's always the Archfield."

He smiled. "We have some very good memories in that hotel, don't we?"

"Some very good memories," she replied, remembering the first time they had made love.

"The Archfield it is," he stated. "Until we can find something more permanent."

She looked up at him. "Ooh?"

"Maybe something along the lines of a little three bedroom with a big backyard."

"What do we need a backyard for again?"

He shrugged. "Don't know, but it makes it sound good, doesn't it?"

He brushed his lips against hers. "Very good, but can I ask you a favor?"

"What's that?"

"I don't care where we go, but if we don't leave soon, I'm going to be forced to have you right here in this room."

He smiled. "Your wish is my command." He kissed her one last time before he took her by the hand and opened the door.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" She asked, staring at his naked chest.

"It's only going to come off again very soon," he joked, reaching down to pick up his shirt that had so easily been discarded.

"Yes, it is," she replied. "But we wouldn't want to make the nurses jealous, would we?"

Lexie took the shirt from him and slipped it over his head. He pulled his arms through and adjusted it.

"Oh, I don't know, the nurses work hard around here. They could use a show."

Lexie playfully nudged him in the ribs. "You're full of yourself, you know that?"

"That's why you love me," he replied.

"One of many reasons why I love you," she clarified. "Now let's go before I get so impatient that we really give the nurses a show."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. Taking her hand, they walked out of the room together.

Author's Note: Well, I hope you liked it! Only one more to go!


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Lexie traced small circles on his chest, her head resting just above his heart. She was tucked beside him, her leg lazily thrown over his body. He had his arms wrapped around her securely, never wanting to let her go again. She sighed contently and closed her eyes.

"I never want to move from this spot," she said.

"Never?"

"Never," she replied.

"Not even to do this?" He brought his hand up to her face and cupped her cheek, leading her head up to his. He kissed her. A year ago he never would have guessed that he could be so content with just one woman. If it were any other woman, he would have tired of her by now, but not Lexie. He never tired of kissing Lexie. He rolled his body so he was on top of her, supporting his weight with his arms. Their two naked bodies, still warm from all the love making they had done, melded together.

"Maybe to do that," she whispered as she rolled back on top of him. Her hands began to trail down his chest and past his hips.

"You're going to kill me, woman," he said playfully.

"You started it," she teased, kissing his chest. "And you should always finish what you start."

"Yes, yes you should," he agreed, ravishing her mouth.

As his hands reached her hips, his cell phone began to vibrate on the table.

"Ignore it," she said, kissing his neck. He let it vibrate right off the table. Every ounce of his body was focused on Lexie and just how incredible she was. As he pinned her under him, ready to make love to her yet again, his pager began to beep.

"Damn it," he grunted. Lexie whined as he reached over her and looked at his pager. "Derek," he stated.

"Doesn't he know that you have more important things to be doing right now than answering his page?"

Mark leaned over the side of the bed and felt around for his cell phone. He picked it up and looked at it. He quickly dialed his voice mail and punched in his password. Lexie continued her seduction, raking her hands over his chest and kissing every available piece of skin she could get her lips on. He had to concentrate hard on listening to the short message that Derek left.

"Crap," he groaned as he put the phone down on the bed stand.

"Noo," Lexie moaned, rolling off of him. "No surgery." She wasn't yet ready to give Mark up even though she knew that, as a surgeon, she would have done the same thing if she had gotten a similar call.

"It's not surgery."

"Then what is it?"

She was perched up on her elbows, looking at him with her sad, doe eyes.

"My going away party."

"Your...what?"

"I was supposed to be a Joe's a half hour ago for my going away party."

"But you're not going anywhere."

"Yeah, well no one else knows that."

"Meredith and Derek do."

"Guess they figured it wasn't worth cancelling. Besides, it's free drinks."

"Are you saying that you'd rather get free drinks than stay here in bed with me?" She questioned.

"Well...it is a toss up." She hit him playfully in the arm. "You know I would rather be here with you," he said, kissing her once more. "But, since Derek and Meredith have both been hounding me not to forget about tonight, I have to go."

"Aren't people going to be a little confused that you're having a going away party, but that you aren't actually going anywhere?"

"Well, technically I might not be moving across the country, but I am still moving."

She cocked her eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"The hotel, remember? As of tomorrow, we'll be moving into the Archfield. So, it'll be like a hotel warming party."

"A hotel warming party?"

"It's like a house warming only for a hotel."

She rolled her eyes and sat up. "Well, if you're going to force me to go to your going away party, I need to find something to wear. Let's hope not everything in my suitcase is wrinkled."

"Not so fast," he said, pulling on her arm. He pulled her back on top of him and kissed her hard.

"If we start that again, I might not let you get out of this bed," she replied.

"That's the plan," he stated, playing with her hair as his mouth was hot on hers. He had no intention of stopping. They were going to finish what they had started.

*****

"What took you so long?" Derek asked as soon as Mark and Lexie had entered the bar.

"We were...preoccupied," Lexie answered, smiling. She took Mark's hand and squeezed it.

"OK, too much information," Derek replied. "Remember you are my little sister now, Little Grey."

She smiled as Mark draped his arm around her shoulder.

"So...why are you still having a going away party for Mark when he's not going anywhere?" Lexie asked.

"Free drinks," Derek answered, holding his beer bottle up.

"Speaking of which, I'll go get us some drinks," Mark said.

He gave Lexie a kiss on the cheek before heading through the crowd to the bar.

"I'm sorry," Derek said as soon as Mark was out of earshot.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry," Derek repeated.

"For what?"

"For doubting your relationship. For telling Mark to stay away from you in the first place. I'm sorry."

Lexie shrugged. "The important thing is that he didn't listen to you."

"He really loves you, you know."

Lexie nodded. "I know." She watched him as he walked through the bar and couldn't help but smile. She felt like the luckiest woman alive.

As Mark passed by his colleagues from the hospital, he got patted on the back and most of them wished him well or congratulated him. He just smiled and nodded without telling them exactly what was going on. He knew that the rumors would start flying soon enough about why Mark wasn't leaving Seattle and he didn't care. He had more important things to care about. Lexie was there with him. He wasn't going to have to move away from his friends even though he would have in a heartbeat. Nothing could have been better. And besides, rumors always made life a little more interesting.

Mark approached the bar and Joe walked over to him.

"The usual, Dr. Sloan?" He asked.

"Make that two of the usual," Mark answered.

"Got a date or something?"

"Or something," Mark answered.

Joe grabbed two bottles of beer from under the counter and handed them Mark.

"Enjoy." Mark thanked him and turned to see where Lexie was. He spotted her sitting at a table with Meredith. "And Mark? It was a pleasure serving you all this time."

"You're not going to get all sentimental on me, are you, Joe?"

"You've been a good customer," Joe responded. "You and all the women you used to bring in here."

"Well, I'm down to one woman," Mark said.

Joe nodded. "Good for you. I knew eventually you'd figure out what life was all about."

"And what's that?"

"Love." Mark nodded. "I'll see you around, Dr. Sloan."

"Yes, yes you will," Mark stated. "And it's Mark."

Joe smiled and walked off to serve another customer as Mark approached the table that Derek, Meredith, and Lexie were sitting at.

"Thanks," Lexie said as Mark gave her one of the beers.

"Looked like you and Joe were having a moment over there," Meredith commented.

"Maybe we were," Mark said.

They each sipped their beers.

"You're back," Christina said to Lexie as she and Hunt approached the table.

"I'm back," Lexie stated.

"Why?" Christina asked.

"Christina," Hunt chastised. He knew she hadn't meant to be rude, but her question came off as being harsh.

"Unlike you," Mark replied. "Lexie realized there is more to life than cutting people open."

Christina glared at him. "Surprising since she was the one who started the intern cutting club."

No one said anything for a moment. They all knew how sensitive Lexie was about what had happened. Finally, though, Lexie's lips curled up and she smiled. Then she laughed and the rest joined in. Soon enough, they were all laughing so hard they began to cry.

"Am I interrupting something?" The chief asked as he approached the table.

They stopped laughing and all stared at the chief.

"Is something wrong, Richard?" Derek asked.

"Actually there is." They all waited for him to continue. "Rumor has it that Dr. Grey has returned to Seattle."

"I forgot how fast rumors traveled around here," Lexie said, smiling. She was trying to make a joke to break the silence, but everyone remained stoic.

"So it is true?" The chief asked.

Lexie nodded, the smile fading from her face. She felt like she was elementary school facing the principal after not listening to her teacher.

"Yes, sir."

"I take it then that you've found a job?"

"Not exactly," Lexie answered. She wasn't sure where this was going, but she was determined to speak her mind. "But having a job isn't as important as I thought it was. There are other things that are more important than being a surgeon."

Christina snorted as Lexie squeezed Mark's hand. He smiled at her and kissed her hand, letting the chief see that what they had was real.

"Well, that's too bad that you feel that way," Richard said.

"Too bad?" Lexie asked.

"That you're not interested in a job because Seattle Grace could use a great surgeon."

Lexie's jaw dropped. "What? But…sir…the budget cuts…"

"Let's just say I worked the numbers again and Seattle can't afford to be without such a promising young surgeon."

"I…I don't know what to say," Lexie stuttered.

"That's a first," Mark commented.

Lexie ignored him. She just continued to stare at the chief in disbelief. They were all silent, looking back and forth from the chief to Lexie, waiting for one of them to say something. Mark rubbed Lexie's back encouragingly, but she remained silent. She was too stunned to speak.

"Lexie," Meredith prompted. "I think the chief is waiting for an answer."

Lexie snapped out of her trance, blinking rapidly. "What?"

"Say yes," Mark said, smiling.

"Yes!" She exclaimed. "Of course, yes!"

She jumped out of her chair and threw her arms around the chief, hugging him. He was taken aback and awkwardly patted her back.

"We'll see you Monday morning," Richard said.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Lexie repeated over and over as she sat back down in her seat.

"You deserve it," Richard said. "Now enjoy your going away party…or whatever this is." He nodded at Mark who nodded back, silently thanking him. The chief made his way out of the bar, secretly smiling to himself. He knew he did the right thing not only for the hospital, but for Mark and Lexie too.

"Do you know what this means?" Lexie asked, hopping onto Mark's lap. She draped her arms around his neck.

"You have a job," he answered, smiling.

"I have a job. I'm going to be a surgeon!" She yelled, unable to control her excitement. "And you know what the best part is?"

"What's that?"  
"I get to be a surgeon with you."

"Yes, that is definitely the best part." He leaned in and kissed her, not caring that all eyes at the table were on them.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Christina said. "This is too lovey dovey for me."

Christina was about to leave the table when Hunt reached for her hand, silently asking her to stay. Lexie blushed as she and Mark ended their kiss. She quickly slid back into her own chair.

"I propose a toast," Derek said, raising his beer. "To Lexie for realizing that there is more to life than cutting. To Mark for realizing that he was in love with Lexie. To the chief for giving Lexie her job back. And to Joe and his bar for bringing us all together."

"And," Lexie added. "To baseball." She winked at Mark.

"To baseball," Mark repeated, clinking his beer bottle against Lexie's.

"Baseball?" Hunt asked.

"I thought you didn't like baseball," Meredith said to Lexie.

"I didn't...I don't. But sometimes, it's what you need," she replied, looking in to Mark's eyes.

"Yes," he agreed. "Sometimes it is definitely what you need." He leaned in and kissed her.

"Well, since you mentioned it," Hunt began, "and everyone is staring at you confused as all hell why Lexie is sitting here with you instead of being in Hartford, what do you say to a game?"

"I'm in," Derek stated.

"I'm not," Christina said. "I came here for boos not bats."

"Party pooper," Meredith replied.

"You're on their side?" Christina asked in disbelief.

"Come on," Meredith said. "It'll be fun. Besides, you're just afraid I'm going to kick your ass." She knew Christina wouldn't back down from a challenge.

"In your dreams," Christina responded. "Game on."

"Let's go," Hunt said, looping his arm through Christina's and leading her away from the table.

"We'll see you guys on the field," Derek said to Lexie and Mark before walking hand in hand out with Meredith.

"What just happened?" Lexie asked.

"Looks like we're going to play some baseball," Mark answered.

"That's not exactly what I meant when I said baseball."

"I know, but you did bring it up. Now come on." He hopped off his bar stool and put his arm around Lexie's waist.

"Can't we just go home and get back into bed? They'll never know we're missing."

He smiled. "Let's kick some ass first and then we can go back to bed."

"Ok," she said, sighing. "But you owe me."

"Oh, don't worry, I think I can find a way to make it up to you." He brushed his lips against hers lightly, intentionally making her want more. She put her hand on the back of his head, keeping his head exactly where she wanted it. He kissed her until his breath was ragged.

"I love you," she said. "I just want you to know that."

"I love you," he replied.

They kissed one last time before leaving to join their friends, knowing that they would never again allow themselves to be split apart.

Author's Note: I want to start off by saying thank you to every one who read and reviewed my story. I really appreciated every comment. Reading them is the reason I kept writing. Secondly, writing the last chapter of a story is always very bittersweet for me because I feel like it's the end of a little piece of me and the end of this story was no different. I've been working on this last chapter for a long time and I can finally say that I feel like it's as good as I can make it be and I feel accomplished and happy that it's finally over. I don't know if I'll be writing any more Grey's Anatomy fanfiction, but it's been a real pleasure. Happy Holidays everyone!


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